89Z 
7T  2/2.       $B "5"""*«™l 

HINTS  AND  DON  iS 


FOR 


Writers  and  Copyreaders 


By  Roltrt  W.   <Ransom. 


4 

« 
ffl 


PC! 
O 


o 


0 


W 


147 


UINJS 
"DONTS" 


/b/u?  and 
Cot/readers 


ROBERT  ¥  RANSOM 


COPYRIGHT,  1911,  BY  ROBERT  W.  RANSOM. 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED. 

ugust,  1911. 


FOKEWOKD. 

Making  its  appeal  especially  to  cul- 
tured readers,  THE  CHICAGO  RECORD- 
HERALD  should  be  an  example  of  good 
English.  This  it  can  be  without  being 
dull  or  pedantic.  A  great  newspaper 
also  may  be  a  model  of  style. 

As  a  step  in  this  direction,  and  at  my 
invitation,  Mr.  Robert  W.  Ransom  of 
THE  RECORD-HERALD  has  compiled 
the  following  hints  and  "don'ts,"  sug- 
gested by  frequent  lapses  in  grammar 
and  by  faults  of  diction  and  style.  To 
these  have  been  added  certain  "dan- 
gerous" expressions  and  some  useful  re- 
minders to  copyreaders. 

The  enumeration  of  newspaper  errors, 
while  incomplete,  includes  most  of  those 
which  have  grown  up  in  recent  years, 
as  well  as  some  "old  offenders"  which 
persist  today. 

Compliance  with  the  instructions 
which  follow  is  expected  and  will  be  re- 
quired. 

HENRY  BARRETT  CHAMBERLIN, 

Managing  Editor. 


227922 


HINTS  AND  "DON'TS." 


"LEADS"    AND    "STORIES." 

1.  Make  "leads"  simple  and  direct.    Get 
to   the   point  at   once.     The  first   sentence 
must  be  brief,  but  must  set  forth  the  cen- 
tral, vital  fact  of  the  "story."    Many  a  great 
"lead"  has  been  put  in  three  lines  of  type. 

2.  Avoid  the  too  frequent  use  of  what  has 
been  called   the   "suspended  interest  lead," 
as  in:    "With  her  hair  streaming  down  her 
back,  her  eyes  bulging  with  terror  and  her 
garments      disheveled,      Madeline      Rivers 
dashed  wildly  down  Clark  street  last  night," 
etc.     Used  sparingly,  this  kind  of  "lead"  is 
effective.    But  if  all  "leads"  were  built  upon 
this  plan,  the  result  would  be  monotonous 
Indeed.      Begin    a    "story"    with    a    terse, 
striking  statement  of  fact.     Nothing  can  be 
more  effective. 

3.  Never  begin    a    "story"   with    "If   you 
were,"   etc.,    "How   would   you  like,"   etc., 
"Wouldn't  it  stun  you,  if,"  etc.,  or  with  hys- 
terical  observations   like    this:       "Ghosts? 
Two   hundred   and   fifty   thousand   dollars' 
worth  of  'em!"    Shun  all  such  excrescences. 

4.  Avoid,  as  a  general  rule,  beginning  a 
"story"  or  a  paragraph  with  "a,"  "an,"  or 
"the."      Try  to  find  something  more  virile. 

5.  Don't  begin  a  "story"  or  a  paragraph 
with  "yesterday"  or  any  other  expression  of 
timev     There  are  other  things  to  be  said 
which  are  of  more  importance. 

6.  Avoid    "fine    writing,"    circumlocution 
and  long,  involved  sentences.    These  are  in- 
tolerable. 

7.  Shun  exaggeration  and  distortion.    Tell 
the  plain  truth. 

8.  Don't  be  afraid  to  use  dialogue  in  a 
"story,"  especially  when  the  conversation  is 


2  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

crisp  and  pointed.     Dialogue  brightens  up  a 
"story"  and  gives  it  "life." 

9.  Anonymous  interviews  or  statements. 
Inferences  and  implied  accusations  are  for- 
bidden.    "It  is  said"  and  "it  is  alleged"  are 
barred,   except,  in  the  case  of  the  latter, 
when  dealing  with  court  papers.    Then  the 
allegations  are  made  by  the  papers,  and  not 
by  THE  RECORD-HERALD.    Nor  is  it  safe  to 
base  serious  charges  on  the  belief  or  even 
the  word   of  the  police.     The  suspicion  or 
belief  of  a  policeman  is  a  weak  prop  in  a 
libel    suit.     Unless    a   suspected    person    is 
under  formal  charges  or  arrest,  it  is  unsafe 
to  go  farther  than  to  assert  that  the  author- 
ities are  investigating  certain  facts  and  cir- 
cumstances.   Detail  these  and  the  known 
results  of  such  investigations.     But  be  sure 
to  state  them  fairly  and  in  all  cases  to  add 
what  the  suspected  person  has  to  say  for 
himself. 

10.  No  item  printed  under  the  heading, 
"City  News  in  Brief,"   should  exceed  sev- 
enty-five words.    All  "stories"  of  more  than 
100  words  must  contain  at  least  three  para- 
graphs.   The  first  must  give  the  gist  of  the 
"story."    If  it  becomes  necessary  to  "kill" 
the  second  and  third  paragraphs  the  essence 
of  the  "story"  is  preserved. 

Some  of  the  faults  enumerated  here  are 
discussed  in  detail  in  the  pages  which  fol- 
low. 


ON   THE    WRITING   OF   "HEADS." 

A  perfect  head  is  a  work  of  art.  It  must 
be  a  reflex  of  the  "story"  it  epitomizes, 
must  be  apt  and  striking  and  must  be  typo- 
graphically "right." 

Don't  editorialize  in  heads.  Make  no 
head  stronger  than  the  "story"  on  which  it 
is  based.  "Overwriting"  in  heads  is  as  rep- 
lehensible  as  exaggeration  in  "stories." 
Many  busy  persons  read  only  the  headings 
in  a  paper.  It  is  incumbent  upon  a  copy- 
reader,  therefore,  not  to  give  false  impres- 
sions. Others  read  articles  the  headings  to 
which  promise  details  of  peculiar  interest. 
Make  the  headings  as  attractive  as  possi- 
ble, but  always  with  strict  regard  for  the 
facts. 

Typographically  the  rules  are  simple,  but 
rigid. 

Don't  begin  any  part  of  a  head  with  "A," 
"An"  or  "The." 

Don't  begin  two  successive  lines  of  a  head 
with  the  same  letter. 

Cross  lines  may  amplify  what  goes  be- 
fore or  may  introduce  what  follows.  When 
a  cross  line  is  intended  to  introduce  a  suc- 
ceeding "bank"  construct  the  line  in  such 
a  way  that  it  cannot  be  taken  to  refer  to 
the  preceding  "bank."  The  cross  line  in 
the  following  head  is  faulty  because  at  first 
sight  it  apparently  amplifies  the  preceding 
part  of  the  head  and  makes  Harrison  argue 
for  the  company,  when  in  reality  it  intro- 
duces the  last  "bank"  and  refers  not  to 
Harrison,  but  to  Meagher.  "Company  Of- 


4  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

ficial  Replies"  would  have  expressed  the 
main  idea  and  prevented  any  possible 
chance  of  misconstruction: 


THREAT  OF 


Eeiterates    Contention    That 

70-Cent  Eate  Is  Fair  and 

Invites  a  Test. 


ARGUES  FOR  THE  COMPANY 


Vice-President  Meagher  Attacks 

Hagenah  Keport,  Declaring 

77  Cents  Unfair. 


Don't  crowd  top  and  cross  lines  with  too 
many  letters  and  don't  write  too  few.  A 
"tight"  line  is  as  bad  as  one  that  shows 
too  much  white  space.  Seek  the  happy  me- 
dium. 

But  the  top  and  cross  lines  are  not  the 
only  parts  of  a  head  that  require  care  and 
the  counting  of  letters.  The  "banks"  are  of 
equal  importance  in  attaining  symmetry. 


ON  THE  WRITING  OF  "HEADS"  5 

Don't  permit  the  indented  lines  in  the  sec- 
ond "bank"  to  be  longer  than  those  in  the 
first  "bank,"  or  those  in  the  third  to  be 
longer  than  those  in  the  second.  Make 
them  shorter,  thereby  obtaining  a  head  with 
a  perfect  slope.  If  there  are  other  "banks," 
as  in  an  extended  head,  observe  the  same 
rule.  If  the  head  is  "bad"  in  proof  or  in 
the  first  edition  of  the  paper,  perfect  it. 

Avoid  dashes  in  heads.  If  you  must  use 
them,  however,  devise  heads  so  that  dashes 
will  not  begin  or  end  lines  in  "banks." 

Typographically  the  following  are  model 
No.  7  and  No.  2  heads: 


MAY  1  LOSES  TERROR 
FOR  ALL  WHO  MOVE 


Two  Big  Eeal  Estate  Boards 
Vote   to   Abolish   Arbi- 
trary Lease  System. 


WILL  RENT  FOR  ANY  TERM 


Tenants,  Landlords  and  Laborers 

Expected   to   Find   Great 

Benefit  in  Change. 


6  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

CORONATION  RITE 
OF  1911  IS  WORK 
OF  "CONFESSOR" 


Ceremony  to  Be  Used  for 

George  Y.  Drawn  Up  by 

Old  Saxon  Monarch. 


PART  IS  TAKEN  FROM  BIBLE 


Anointing  of  Britain's  King 
Copied  After  the  Crown- 
ing of  Jehoash. 


ON  THE  WRITING  OF  "HEADS"    7 

Subheads  in  a  long  "story"  should  be 
placed,  as  a  rule,  about  200  words  apart;  in 
a  shorter  "story,"  100  or  150  words  apart. 
But  whenever  there  is  an  important  change 
of  topic,  disregard  mathematical  regularity 
and  symmetry  and  use  a  subhead. 

Never  use  a  subhead  after  a  sentence  end- 
ing with  a  colon.  Paragraph  the  sentence 
and  place  the  subhead  above  it.  When  you 
say  "Senator  Root  spoke  as  follows:"  and 
place  a  subhead  after  the  colon,  you  inter- 
rupt what  follows,  if  indeed  you  do  not 
make  the  speaker  responsible  for  the  sub- 
head. 


SYNTAX,    DICTION,    STYLE. 


ABBREVIATE  —  Don't  use  it  for 
"abridge."  The  former  means  to  "curtail" 
and  the  latter  to  "condense."  You  "abbre- 
viate" a  title;  you  "abridge"  a  speech. 

ABOLITION— This  term  is  preferable  to 
"abolishment,"  or  to  "abolishing"  used  as  a 
noun. 

ADJECTIVES  FOR  ADVERB&-It  is  a 
common  newspaper  error  to  use  "slow," 
"quick,"  "easy,"  "sure,"  in  their  positive, 
comparative  and  superlative  forms,  for  the 
proper  corresponding  adverbs.  Thus  one  is 
admonished  to  "go  slow"  instead  of  to  "go 
slowly";  Champ  Clark  is  represented  as 
saying  "legislators  win  fame  quicker 
through  wit  than  through  hard  work,"  when 
the  presumption  is  he  said  "more  quickly"; 
"he  breathes  easier  now"  is  seen  oftener 
than  "he  breathes  more  easily  now,"  and  "I 
am  going  sure"  is  wrongly  used'  for  "I  am 
going  surely."  The  rule  regarding  the  proper 
use  of  adjectives  and  adverbs  is  well  stated 
by  Professor  F.  A.  March  as  follows. 
"When  the  wish  is  to  express  a  quality  of 
the  subject,  the  adjective  should  be  used, 
however  closely  it  may  be  situated  as  to 
the  verb;  if  the  wish  is  to  express  some 
quality  of  the  action  of  the  verb,  the  adverb 
should  be  used." 

ADVENT — Reserve  it  for  some  important 
or  sacred  event.  Don't  say  "the  advent  of  a 
circus,"  but  use  "arrival." 

AFTER— Don't  use  it  as  an  adverb,  as  in: 
"He  came  after."  Say  "afterward."  Most 
newspapers  now  use  "after"  only  as  a  prep- 
osition or  as  a  conjunction,  as  in :  "He  cam* 
after  dinner,"  or  "He  came  after  his  friend 
had  gone." 

AGGRAVATE— Don't  use  it  in  the  sense 
of  "exasperate"  or  "provoke."  Restrict  it 
to  its  proper  meaning,  which  is  "to  make 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        9 

worse  or  more  severe,"  as  in  the  expres- 
sion, "To  aggravate  the  disease." 

AIRSHIP— Don't  use  it  to  denote  an  aero- 
plane, but  a  dirigible  balloon. 

ALLUDE — Don't  misuse  it.  Remember 
that  it  means  only  a  casual  reference  to  a 
subject. 

ALREADY — Don't  use  it  unless  it  is  neces- 
sary to  imply  a  contrast  between  what  has 
happened  and  what  may  happen.  Generally 
it  may  be  omitted  without  sacrificing  any- 
thing important,  as  in:  "It  is  said  that 
many  of  the  books  already  have  been  placed 
in  the  schools." 

AND — Don't  say  "Try  and  succeed"  when 
you  mean  "Try  to  succeed." 

The  word  "and"  is  misused  again  in  the 
following:  "Subtracting  their  votes  from 
the  Lorimer  votes  and  Lorimer  would  have 
been  beaten  by  four  votes."  The  meaning 
is:  "Subtracting  their  votes  from  the  Lori- 
mer votes,  it  is  apparent  that  Lorimer  would 
have  been  beaten  by  four  votes."  No  "and" 
is  necessary  to  establish  the  connection  be- 
tween the  two  clauses.  Change  "subtract- 
ing" to  "subtract,"  however,  and  the  use  of 
"and"  will  be  proper  and  necessary. 

Don't  say  "and"  for  "or,"  as  In:  "Cannon 
no  longer  cracks  the  whip  over  his  party 
associates  and  attempts  to  drive  them." 
The  evident  meaning  here  is  that  he  does 
neither  of  these  things;  hence  "or"  should 
be  used  instead  of  "and." 

Avoid  the  unnecessary  repetition  of  "and" 
as  in:  "He  spoke,  and  gesticulated,  and 
ranted,  and  the  audience  alternately  cheered 
and  jeered  him."  The  first  "and"  is  super- 
fluous. 

Don't  begin  a  sentence  or  paragraph  with  { 
"and."    It  adds  nothing  to  the  force  of  what 
follows  and  should  be  eliminated. 

A  NUMBER  OF— This  means  "two  or 
more"  and  is  most  indefinite.  Say  "several." 
which  means  more  than  two,  but  not  very 
many,  or  say  "many." 


10  HINTS  AND  "DON'TS" 

ARCHAIC  WORDS  AND  EXPRES- 
SIONS— "Learnt,"  "spoilt,"  "proven"  and 
similar  forms  for  "learned,"  "spoiled," 
"proved,"  etc.,  and  "amongst"  for  "among" 
are  examples  of  the  survival  of  the  un- 
fittest.  Discard  the  archaic;  use  the  modern. 

"That  which,"  as  in  "We  prefer  that 
which  is  interesting,"  well  may  give  place 
to  "what." 

For  "The  piece  came  to  its  first  produc- 
tion*" say  "The  piece  was  produced  for  the 
first  time."  This  is  Chicago,  not  London, 
Paris,  Berlin,  Vienna  or  Boston. 

"It  is  possible  to  say"  or  "It  is  possible  to 
believe"  many  things,  but  when  an  artist 
achieves  a  notable  triumph,  why  use  either 
of  these  timid,  preliminary  phrases  in  an- 
nouncing that  fact?  Similarly,  "it  may  be 
declared  that  the  young  performer  plays 
surprisingly  well"  suggests  a  forced  com- 
mendation. If  praise  is  to  be  withheld, 
withhold  it;  but  if  the  intention  is  to  com- 
mend', do  it  in  no  half-apologetic  fashion. 
Dispense,  therefore,  with  "it  is  declared" 
and  say  openly  and  above  board:  "The 
young  performer  plays  surprisingly  well." 

It  is  going  far  afield  to  say  "One  needs 
must  have"  for  "One  must  have."  The 
latter  expresses  fully  and  clearly  all  that  is 
meant  by  the  former. 

Don't  use  "she"  in  referring  to  a  country, 
a  city  or  a  ship;  each  is  neuter.  Say  "it" 
and  leave  "she"  to  the  poets  and  the 
archaists. 

Don't  use  the  archaic  word  "hostelry"  for 
"hotel,"  "inn,"  or  "lodging-house." 

"Which"  as  an  adjective  in  such  expres- 
sions as  "in  which  city,"  "in  which  place," 
"in  which  event,"  etc.,  is  out  of  date  in  any 
twentieth-century  "story."  For  "He  lived 
in  Chicago,  in  which  city  he  was  born," 
say:  "He  lived  in  Chicago,  where  he  was 
born."  The  meaning  is  precisely  the  same 
and  the  expression  more  direct,  more  in 
accord  with  modern  usage,  and  more  eu- 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         11 

phonious.  For  "He  expects  to  win  the  party 
nomination,  in  which  event  he  will  become 
Governor  of  Illinois,"  say:  "He  expects 
to  win  the  party  nomination.  In  that  event 
he  will  become  Governor  of  Illinois." 

Closely  allied  is  the  expression  "all  of 
which,"  often  used  after  a  dash,  or  a  period, 
or  even  beginning  a  new  paragraph  and  re- 
ferring to  some  preceding  statement.  This 
is  a  species  of  loose  writing  seemingly 
adopted  because  of  the  impression  that  it 
imparts  an  air  of  "smartness"  to  the  subse- 
quent comment.  In  reality  "which"  in  such 
cases  is  used  as  an  adjective,  with  some 
noun  like  "facts,"  "circumstances,"  or 
"things"  understood.  It  would  be  prefera- 
ble to  say  "All  this,"  or  "all  these,"  or  "all 
the  foregoing,"  which  is  precisely  what  is 
meant. 

Don't  begin  a  sentence  or  paragraph  with 
"after  which,"  referring  to  something  in 
the  preceding  sentence  or  paragraph.  Say 
"after  this,"  "after  that,"  "then,"  or 
"thereupon." 

AKT1C.LH2— Use  the  indefinite  article,  if 
you  use  any,  in  referring  to  a  person's  busi- 
ness, trade  or  profession.  Thus  say  "John 
Jones,  a  machinist,"  not  "John  Jones,  the 
machinist";  "Henry  Miller,  an  actor."  Con- 
ceivably there  are  other  machinists  and 
other  actors  named  John  Jones  and  Henry 
Miller.  To  single  out  the  individual  by  the 
use  of  "the"  negatives  such  a  supposition 
and  gives  your  Jones  or  Miller  undue  promi- 
nence. Or,  omit  "a"  or  "an"  altogether  and 
say  "John  Jones,  machinist,"  and  "Henry 
Miller,  actor."  In  referring  to  a  famous 
personage  like  Henry  Irving,  or  Sarah  Bern- 
hardt,  the  name  alone  is  sufficient  without 
any  professional  tag  or  preceding  article. 
Also,  when  a  person's  official  title  follows 
his  name  the  use  of  "the"  is  unnecessary, 
as  in:  "James  Bryce,  British  ambassador." 


12  HINT8  AND  "DON'TS" 

No  article  is  needed  after  the  expression 
"kind  of,"  as  in:  "I  dislike  this  kind  of 
task." 

Omit  "a"  before  the  dollar  mark,  as  in: 
"He  has  invested  about  a  $1,000,000  in 
mining." 

When  a  participle  is  used  as  a  noun,  as  in 
the  sentence,  "Fears  have  been  expressed 
with  regard  to  mulcting  of  the  farmer,"  the 
article  should  be  used  before  the  participle, 
or  omitted  together  with  the  preposition 
following  the  participle.  Say  either  "the 
mulcting  of  the  farmer"  or  "mulcting  the 
farmer." 

Don't  say  "the  trousers  pocket"  for  "a 
trousers  pocket,"  as  in:  "A  torn  five  dollar 
bill  was  found  in  the  trousers  pocket  of  the 
dead  architect."  Trousers  usually  have 
two,  often  four,  pockets,  not  to  mention  a 
watch  pocket. 

AS — Don't  use  it  for  the  conjunction 
"that,"  as  in:  "I  don't  know  as  they  will 
come."  Such  use  of  "as"  is  dialectal  or 
colloquial. 

Avoid  the  frequent,  monotonous,  confus- 
ing use  of  "as"  by  substituting  "when"  or 
"since"  if  the  sense  permits. 

AVIATION— Apply  it  only  to  heavier- 
than-air  machines.  Use  "aeronautics"  in 
referring  to  lighter-than-air  machines. 
Wright  promotes  "aviation,"  Zeppelin  "aero- 
nautics." The  former  is  an  "aviator,"  the 
latter  an  "aeronaut."  The  useful  word 
"airman"  is  not  recognized  in  the  lexicons, 
but  language  grows  and  its  day  may  come. 
"Birdman"  for  "aviator"  is  barred,-  in  THE 
RECORD-HERALD. 

AVOCATION— Don't  use  it  when  you 
mean  "vocation."  The  latter  mean's  one's 
regular  pursuit  or  calling,  while  "avoca- 
tion" is  that  which  calls  one  away  from  it. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         13 

AWKWARD  WORDS  AND  EXPRES- 
SIONS— Omit  the  nominative  before  a  par- 
ticiple. A  recent  "story"  about  a  young 
man  who  asked  assistance  in  obtaining  a 
bride  contained  this  clause:  "He  adding 
that  any  maiden  with  the  desired  qualifica- 
tions could  find  him  at  a  given  address." 
The  "he"  should  have  been  omitted.  Here 
is  a  later  instance:  "The  continued  ill 
health  of  Mr.  Lincoln  is  given  as  the  cause 
of  his  impending  retirement  from  the  active 
management  of  the  corporation,  he  having 
been  anxious  for  some  time  to  be  relieved 
of  the  responsibility."  Put  into  English, 
this  sentence  would  read:  "The  continued 
ill  health  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  has  been 
anxious  for  some  time  to  be  relieved  of  the 
responsibility,  is  given  as  the  cause  of  his 
impending  retirement  from  the  active  man- 
agement of  the  corporation."  This  use  of 
the  nominative  absolute  is  out  of  place  in  a 
modern  newspaper  "story." 

"Not  a  page  but  shows  genius"  is  merely 
a  roundabout  way  of  saying  "Every  page 
shows  genius."  The  latter  is  simple,  direct 
and  expresses  the  meaning  fully  and  clearly. 

Don't  say  "If  they  do  not  go  to  work  and 
obtain  a  judgeship  for  him."  The  words 
"go  to  work"  are  unnecessary.  Obtaining  a 
judgeship  implies  work.  The  expression 
should  read:  "If  they  do  not  obtain  a 
judgeship  for  him." 

Don't  say  "going  to  be"  when  you  mean 
"will  be,"  as  in:  "He  is  going  to  be  the 
youngest  college  president  in  the  United 
States." 

Omit  "got"  in  such  an  expression  as  "A 
man  has  got  two  arms."  Use  it  only  when 
it  means  one  has  acquired  or  obtained  some- 
thing. 

Don't  say  "paid  a  call  on  Senor  Liman- 
tour,"  but  "paid  a  call  to,"  "made  a  call 
on"  or  "called  on"  the  senor. 


14  HINTS  AND 

For  such  an  awkward,  confusing  state- 
ment as  "the  96,000  figure  is  less  than  2,000 
greater  than  the  vote  of  the  Republican 
primary  last  fall"  substitute  the  clearer, 
more  direct  declaration:  "The  96,000  figure 
exceeds  by  less  than  2,000  the  vote  at  the 
Republican  primary  last  fall." 

Don't  say  "Senator  La  Follette  did  not 
get  to  see  him."  "Senator  La  Follette  did 
not  see  him"  is  sufficient. 


B 

BACK— Don't  say  "a  few  days  back," 
but  "a  few  days  ago."  Similarly,  don't  say 
"a  few  days  ahead"  in  the  sense  of  "a  few 
days  hence"  or  "a  few  days  from  now." 

BAD— Restrict  it  to  its  proper  meaning, 
which  is  the  opposite  of  "good."  One  may 
accept  "bad"  money,  or  have  a  "bad" 
temper,  but  for  "bad"  pain,  "bad"  wound 
say  "severe"  pain,  "dangerous"  wound* 

BADLY — Don't  use  it  for  "very,"  "very 
much"  or  "greatly."  Thus,  instead  of  say- 
i.Mg  "I  need  the  money  badly,"  say  "I  need 
the  money  very  much." 

BALANCE— Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of 
"rest,"  "remainder"  or  "residue."  Restrict 
it  to  its  proper  meanings. 

BEASTLY— Don't  use  this  highly  objec- 
tionable Briticism  for  "very"  or  "exceed- 
ingly," as  in  "beastly  hot." 

BESIDE,  BESIDES— Distinguish  carefully 
between  them.  "Beside"  means  "by  the 
side  of,"  as  in:  "I  stood  beside  her."  "Be- 
sides" means  "in  addition  to,"  as  in:  "He 
has  several  houses  besides  this." 

BIG — Avoid  it  in  heads  and  in  text.  Few 
words  have  been  so  overworked  or  sound 
so  cheap.  "Big"  refers  properly  only  to 
physical  size.  Don't  misuse  it  for  "great." 
Remember  that  a  "big"  man  may  not  be 
"great"  and  that  a  "great"  man  may  not 
be  "big." 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         15 

BLOOD,  BLOODY — Avoid  as  far  as  pos- 
sible the  use  of  these  unpleasant  and  gen- 
erally unnecessary  words. 

BOGUS— Substitute  the  preferable  word 
"spurious." 

BOMB — Don't  explode  any  more  meta- 
phorical bombs,  as  in:  "Alderman  Jones 
set  off  a  bomb  last  night  when  he  charged 
Alderman  Smith  with  grafting."  The  use 
of  "bomb"  in  this  sense  is  improper  and 
tiresome. 

BRING,  CARRY,  TAKE— "Bring"  means 
to  convey  a  thing  from  one  point  to  the 
point  where  the  speaker  is,  as  in:  "Bring 
me  an  apple."  "Carry"  means  to  convey 
a  thing  from  one  point  to  another,  as  in: 
"This  train  carries  the  mail  from  Chicago 
to  New  York."  "Take"  means  to  convey  a 
thing  from  the  point  where  the  speaker  is 
to  another  point,  as  in:  "Take  the  book 
to  him." 

BUT — Don't  use  it  for  "only,"  as  in:  "All 
these  flights  but  led  up  to  the  great  event." 
"But"  is  a  preposition,  or  a  conjunction,  and 
its  use  as  an  adverb  is  archaic  or  poetical. 
Avoid  also  the  use  of  "but  that"  and  "but 
what"  for  "that,"  as  in:  "There  is  no  doubt 
but  what  (or  but  that)  I  shall  go."  "There 
is  no  doubt  that  I  shall  go"  is  sufficient,  and 
even  "that"'  may  be  omitted  here  as  un- 
necessary. 


CALCULATE— Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of 
"believe,"  "expect,"  "plan,"  "suppose," 
"think,"  "intend."  In  the  following  sen- 
tence it  is  misused  for  "expected"  or 
"likely":  "The  appearance  of  ten  men  like 
J.  Ogden  Armour  and  Louis  Swift  in  a  court 
where  it  will  be  decided  whether  they  are 
to  go  to  jail,  be  fined  or  freed  is  calculated 
to  attract  a  large  crowd  of  persons."  Ob- 
viously calculation  in  no  way  enters  into  the 


16  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

case.  In  "we  calculate  to  leave  tomorrow" 
the  word  is  misused  for  "intend." 

CARAVANSARY— An  extravagant  word,, 
much  favored  by  rural  editors,  for  "hotel." 
Cultivate  simplicity  by  dropping  it. 

CASKET— This  is  a  favorite  word  of  the 
undertaker.  Most  good  newspapers  prefer 
"coffin." 

CITY  BEAUTIFUL— Don't  use  the  ex- 
pression when  referring  to  Chicago  or  to 
what  is  known  as  "the  Chicago  plan."  Some 
day  Chicago  may  be  a  "city  beautiful";  to- 
day the  expression,  having  been  over- 
worked, merely  excites  incredulity  and  ridi- 
cule. 

CLAIM — Don't  use  it  as  a  verb  unless  the 
intention  is  to  assert  an  individual  right 
to  something.  Ordinarily  use  "say,"  "de- 
clare," "assert"  or  "allege." 

CLERGY— Don't  use  it  when  you  mean 
"clergymen,"  as  in:  "Four  clergy  officiated." 
"Clergy"  is  a  collective  noun  and1  should 
not  be  used  in  referring  to  individuals. 

CLUBMAN— This  might  mean  the  cave 
man,  or  a  policeman,  armed  with  a  club. 
What  you  really  mean  is  "club  member," 
or  "member  of  a  club."  Say  so.  "Club- 
woman" is  even  worse  than  "clubman." 

COACH— Don't  use  it  for  "street  car," 
even  in  heads,  where  the  temptation  to  do 
so  is  especially  strong.  A  railway  passen- 
ger car  properly  may  be  called'  a  "coach," 
but  a  street  car  may  not;  it  is  just  a  "street 
car,"  or  a  "car." 

COINING  OF  VERBS— Verbs  must  not 
be  coined  from  proper  nouns,  as  "Lexowed," 
"Sundayed,"  "Fletcherize,"  etc.,  or  from 
nouns  generally,  as  "jailed,"  "officed,"  "re- 
cessed," "loaned,"  etc.  A  man  doesn't  "of- 
fice" at  100  Washington  street;  he  has  an  of- 
fice there.  It  Would  be  just  as  proper  to  say 
he  "homes"  at  52  East  Twenty-ninth 
street,"  or  "clubs"  at  the  Union  League. 
A  legislative  body  or  a  convention  doesn't 
"recess,"  but  "takes  a  recess."  You  don't 


S7NTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         17 

"loan"  a  friend:  $5,  but  you  may  "lend" 
him  $5.  Some  modern  writers  urge  the  use 
of  "loan"  as  a  verb  in  referring  to  large 
financial  transactions,  but  the  plea  is  not 
convincing. 

COLLOCATION  OF  WORDS— Don't  de- 
scribe a  man  as  "a  heavy  hardware  dealer." 
What  you  mean  is  "a  dealer  in  heavy  hard- 
ware." The  man  himself  may  not  be 
heavy,  but  light. 

Don't  say  a  man  was  "shot  in  the  fracas," 
or  "in  the  struggle,"  or  in  anything  else, 
except  some  specifically  named  part  of  his 
person.  If  the  "fracas"  or  "struggle"  is  too 
important  to  omit,  change  the  arrangement 
of  the  words  and  say  "in  the  fracas"  or  "in 
the  struggle"  a  man  was  shot. 

The  proper  position  in  a  sentence  of  the 
conjunction  "however"  apparently  perplexes 
many  persons.  Since  it  qualifies,  negatives, 
or  institutes  a,  contrast  with  something  pre- 
viously stated.,  it  should  be  placed  so  as  to 
make  clear  such  qualification,  negation,  or 
contrast.  The  following  is  an  example  of 
correct  collocation:  "England  permits  virtu- 
ally no  discrimination  (by  Russia)  against 
English  Jews,  and  Jews  from  Germany  are 
admitted  much  as  other  citizens.  In  the 
case  of  the  United  States,  however,  Russia 
takes  greater  liberties."  Here  Russia's 
treatment  of  English  and  German  Jews  is 
contrasted  with  its  treatment  of  American 
Jews.  "However,"  which  emphasizes  the 
contrast,  is  placed  properly  after  "United 
States."  The  following  is  an  example  of 
Incorrect  collocation:  "Scientists  of  all  ages 
havo  declared  that  transmutation  is  an  im- 
possibility^ They,  however,  lose  sight  of 
the  fact  that  nature  is  accomplishing  trans- 
mutation all  the  time  and  everywhere." 
There  can  be  no  contrast  here  between 
"scientists"  and  "they,"  which  stands  for 
"scientists."  The  contrast  is  between  the 
negation  of  transmutation  by  scientists  and 
the  constant  disproof  of  that  negation  by 


18  HINTS  AND  "DON'TS" 

nature.  "However,"  therefore,  should  be 
placed  after  "sight,"  or  "fact,"  or  "nature," 
thereby  enforcing  the  contrast. 

Avoid  the  "splitting"  of  infinitives  when- 
ever the  meaning  can  be  expressed  as 
clearly,  or  more  clearly,  by  so  doing.  Thus, 
"indefinitely  to  defer,"  or,  better,  "to  defer 
indefinitely,"  is  regarded  more  favorably 
than  "to  indefinitely  defer,"  and  "decides 
not  to  go"  is  far  preferable  to  "decides  to 
not  go."  Euphony  will  dictate  in  most  cases 
that  the  adverb  shall  follow  the  verb  and 
not  precede  the  sign  "to." 

The  same  general  rule,  with  the  qualifica- 
tions noted,  should  apply,  by  analogy,  to 
the  separation  of  main  verbs  and;  their  aux- 
iliaries. Thus,  "the  man  was  roughly  han- 
dled" should  give  place  to  "the  man  was 
handled  roughly."  Euphony  again  will  de- 
mand generally  that  the  adverb  follow  the 
main  verb  rather  than  precede  the  aux- 
iliary. Thus,  "The  fireman  had  borne  him 
out  carefully"  is  preferable  to  "the  fire- 
man carefully  had  borne  him  out." 

Adverbs,  as  a  rule,  should  follow  sim- 
ple verbs.  Thus  "declared  yesterday"  is 
better  than  "yesterday  declared,"  the  fact 
of  the  declaration  being  more  important 
than  the  time. 

In  the  sentence,  "The  conservatives  had 
only  been  able  to  save  the  day  by  adjourn- 
ing," the  verb  is  mangled  and  the  adverb 
out  of  place.  Properly  written,  the  sen- 
tence would  read:  "The  conservatives  had 
been  able  to  save  the  day  only  by  adjourn- 
ing." Only  adjournment,  in  other  words, 
saved  it.  Place  "only"  as  near  as  possible 
to  the  word  to  which  it  refers. 

Avoid  the  unnecessary  interjection  of  a 
phrase  between  a  verb  and  a  predicate 
noun.  Example:  "This  work  is,  in  reality, 
a  symphony  only  in  name.  It  is,  more 
strictly  speaking,  a  suite."  Preferably  one 
should  say:  "This  work,  in  reality,  is  a 


8JNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         19 

symphony  only  in  name.  More  strictly 
speaking,  it  is  a  suite." 

The  following  sentence  would  be 
smoother  and  more  vigorous  if  "asked" 
were  placed  before  "Barnes"  instead  of 
being  placed  at  the  end:  "  'Did  you  pray 
also?'  A.  C.  Barnes,  attorney  for  the  com- 
mittee, asked." 

This  sentence  appears  in  the  report  of 
a  recent  meeting:  "The  State  of  Oregon 
was  held  up  as  a  model  for  other  states 
to  pattern  after  by  the  advocates  of  popu- 
lar government  and  ridiculed  as  an  experi- 
mental station  which  had  entered  upon 
legislation  of  vicious  tendency  by  the  op- 
position." Better  arranged,  it  would  read 
thus:  "The  State  of  Oregon  was  held  up 
by  the  advocates  of  popular  government 
as  a  model  for  other  states  to  pattern  after 
and  ridiculed  by  the  opposition  as  an  ex- 
perimental station  which  had  entered  upon 
legislation  of  vicious  tendency." 

The  following  is  another  recent  instance 
of  incorrect  collocation:  "Mr.  Sherwood 
\vas  born  in  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  fifty-six  years 
ago,  where  his  father,"  etc.  The  "fifty-six 
years  ago"  should  follow  "born,"  thus 
bringing  "where"  after  "Lyons,  N.  Y.," 
to  which  it  refers. 

Position  may  affect  materially  the  mean- 
ing of  a  sentence.  Here  is  a  recent  ex- 
ample: "Fourteen  elevator  operators  were 
questioned  and  admitted  that  they  would 
be  useless  in  the  event  of  a  fire,  ae  they 
were  all  crippled."  The  reporter  did  not 
mean  that  the  men  were  crippled  entirely, 
but  that  all  the  fourteen  were  crippled  in 
eome  way.  The  explanatory  clause  should 
read:  "As  all  were  crippled."  In  this  con- 
nection, don't  say  "all  of  the  fourteen"  or 
"all  of  the  men."  When  a  part  of  the 
whole  is  mentioned  say  "of."  When  all 
are  mentioned  say  "all,"  which  expresses 
the  meaning  fully,  and  omit  "of."  Trans- 
posing the  sentence  for  the  sake  of  illus- 


20  HINTS  AND  "DON'TS" 

tration,  it  will  be  seen  that  "of  the  four- 
teen seven  were  crippled"  is  clear,  but  that 
"of  the  fourteen  all  were  crippled"  is 
illogical. 

Here  is  another  recent  example  of  bad 
collocation:  "Mr.  Bartzen  was  criticised 
for  removing  Dr.  Wilhite,  and  he  appointed 
the  committee  to  choose  a  man  capable  of 
filling  the  position  as  an  answer  to  his 
opponents."  Insert  "as  an  answer  to  his 
opponents"  after  "and"  and  observe  how 
much  better  the  sentence  will  read  and 
sound. 

COLLOQUIALISMS— Avoid  them  and 
substitute  appropriate  synonyms.  The  fol- 
lowing are  barred  unless  uttered  by  a 
speaker: 

"Bully,"  as  adjective  or  adverb. 

"Cotton  to"  for  "favor"  or  "incline  to." 

"Cute,"  an  abbreviation  of  "acute,"  for 
"clever." 

"Do  itself  proud"  for  "do  itself  credit." 

"Enthuse"  for  "become  enthusiastic"  or 
"arouse." 

"Expect"  for  "think,"  "believe,"  "sup- 
pose." 

"Level  head"  and  "level-headed"  for 
"common  sense"  and  "sensible." 

"Likes"  for  "equal,"  as  in:  "The  likes 
of  him." 

"Lunch"  for  "lumcheon." 

"Mighty"  for  "very"  or  "extremely,"  as 
in  "mighty  easy"  or  in  such  absurd  ex- 
pressions as  "mighty  little,"  "mighty 
weak." 

"Muchly"    for   "much." 

"Negotiate"  for  "surmount"  or  "trav- 
erse." 

"Passenger"  for  "passenger  train,"  as  in 
the  heading:  "Wabash  Passenger  in 
Ditch." 

"Plead"   (pled)   for  "pleaded." 

"Posted"  for  "informed." 

"Sleuth"   for  "detective." 

"Tasty"  for  "tasteful." 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE         21 

"Wire"  for  "telegram." 

Moreover,  don't  use  such  barbarous  ex- 
pressions as  "ain't"  for  "am  not,"  "are  not," 
"is  not,"  "isn't,"  "aren't;"  "dassent"  for 
"dare  not;"  "he  don't"  for  "he  doesn't;" 
"done  time;"  "haint"  for  "have  not"  and 
"haven't;"  "had  ought"  for  "ought;"  or 
"unbeknown"  and  "unbeknownst,"  which 
are  dialectal,  for  "unknown." 

COMPARE,  CONTRAST  —  Distinguish 
carefully  between  these  two  words.  Things 
are  "compared"  when  the  purpose  is  to  show 
their  relative  value  or  excellence  or  to  bring 
out  their  characteristic  qualities.  Things 
are  "contrasted"  when  the  intention  is  to 
emphasize  their  difference.  In  this  con- 
nection it  is  well  to  note  when  "compared" 
should  be  followed  by  "with"  and  when  it 
should  be  followed  by  "to."  One  object  is 
compared  "with"  another  as  when,  citing 
Webster,  the  movement  of  the  Odyssey  is 
compared  "with"  that  of  the  Aeneid;  it  is 
compared  "to"  another  when  it  is  formally 
represented,  on  the  basis  of  a  real  or  imag- 
ined similarity,  as  like  the  other.  Examples: 
Pope  compares  Homer  "with"  Virgil.  He 
compares  Homer  "to"  the  Nile,  pouring  out 
his  riches  with  a  boundless  overflow,  and 
Virgil  "to"  a  river  in  its  banks,  with  a 
gentle  and  constant  stream. 

COMPARISONS— Be  careful  to  use  the 
proper  article  with  the  superlative.  One  who 
excels  all  others,  for  instance,  is  not  given 
"a  foremost  place,"  but  "the  foremost 
place."  There  can  be  only  one  "foremost 
place." 

Some  adjectives  are  incapable  of  com- 
parison. "Unique"  is  one  of  them.  Hence 
don't  say  "most  unique,"  but  "unique." 

Don't  say  "the  best  of  the  two,"  but  "the 
better  of  the  two."  This  instruction,  al- 
though elementary,  is  seen  almost  daily  to 
be  necessary. 


22  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

Don't  say  "Chicago  is  to  have  the  most 
elaborate  subway  of  any  city  in  the  world." 
The  words  "any  city"  necessarily  include 
Chicago.  Obviously  your  intention  is  to  ex- 
clude, set  apart,  and  compare  Chicago's 
proposed  subway  system  with  all  other  ex- 
isting or  proposed  systems.  Hence  the  sen- 
tence should  read:  "Chicago  is  to  have  the 
most  elaborate  subway  system  in  the 
world,"  or  "Chicago  is  to  have  a  more  elab- 
orate subway  system  than  any  other  city 
in  the  world."  Similarly,  don't  say  "finest 
of  any,"  but  "finest  of  all,"  or  "finer  than 
any  other." 

CONDIGN — Don't  use  it  for  "severe."  It 
doesn't  mean  that,  but  means  "deserved." 

CONGRESSMAN— The  Congress  of  the 
United  States  is  composed  of  the  Senate  and 
the  House  of  Representatives.  Hence  a 
"Congressman"  may  be  either  a  member  of 
the  Senate  or  a  member  of  the  House.  For 
"Congressman,"  therefore,  substitute  the 
specific  term  "Senator"  or  "Representa- 
tive" to  designate  the  one  or  the  other.  The 
abbreviation  "M.  C.,"  following  a  name,  is 
permissible  because  it  means  a  "member  of 
Congress,"  which  is  a  term  applied  ex- 
clusively, although  not  with  strict  accuracy, 
to  a  person  elected  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives. 

CONSTRUCTION— When  it  is  faulty  im- 
prove it.  Don't  permit,  for  instance,  such  a 
slovenly  sentence  as  "Senor  Limantour  will, 
or  has,  resigned."  Manifestly  "will  re- 
signed" is  impossible.  Change  the  sentence 
to  read:  "Senor  Limantour  will  resign,  or 
has  resigned."  Repetition  of  the  verb  is 
preferable  to  the  commission  of  an  error. 

The  following  is  a  conspicuous  example  of 
awkward,  involved,  bad  construction: 
"Chairman  Burrows,  while  refusing  to  con- 
sent to  fixing  a  time  for  a  vote,  gave  the 
promise  that  a  vote  would  be  had  before 
adjournment  of  the  present  Congress."  Here 
we  have  the  unnecessary  repetition  of  "to" 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        23 

and  the  use  of  two  confusing:  participles, 
one  of  which  is  employed  improperly  for 
the  infinitive.  Simplified  and  turned  into 
English,  the  sentence  would  read:  "Chair- 
man, Burrows,  while  refusing  consent  to  fix 
a  time  for  a  vote,  promised  that  one  would 
be  taken  before  adjournment  of  the  present 
Congress." 

Here  is  another:  "By  that  treaty  we 
agreed  with  England  that  we  would  neither 
of  us  own  any  part  of  the  land  in  which 
the  canal  was  to  be  built  and  that  we  would 
neither  of  us  fortify  it."  The  expression 
"We  would  neither  of  us"  is  improper  and 
Inelegant,  while  "it"  as  used  might  refer 
either  to  the  canal  or  the  land.  Properly 
written,  the  sentence  would  read:  "By  that 
treaty  we  agreed  with  England  that  neither 
of  us  would  own  any  part  of  the  land  in 
which  the  canal  was  to  be  built  and  that 
neither  of  us  would  fortify  the  canal." 

When  "hence"  is  used  in  the  sense  of 
"from  this  cause  or  reason,"  clearness  will 
result  by  placing  it  at  the  beginning  of 
an  independent  sentence.  The  following  in- 
volved paragraph,  for  example,  would  be  Im- 
proved by  resolving  it  into  two  sentences, 
the  second  beginning  with  "Hence:"  "The 
Cuban  government  is  lending  cordial  aid, 
since  the  prime  necessity  of  revealing  the 
underwater  body  of  the  Maine  as  nearly  as. 
possible  in  the  same  condition  as  when  the 
battle  ship  sank  is  recognized,  hence  the 
methods  employed  must  be  free  from  all 
suspicion  and  the  appliance  utilized  such 
as  to  obviate  any  further  stress  or  distortion 
of  the  hull." 

The  expression  "one  of  the  first,  if  not  the 
first,  witnesses"  is  manifestly  wrong,  but 
the  error  persists.  Both  words  "first"  are 
made  to  qualify  the  plural  noun  "witnesses," 
but  the  first  "first"  obviously  is  plural  while 
the  second  is  singular.  What  you  should 
say  is:  "One  of  the  first  witnesses,  if  not 
the  first." 


24  HINTS  AND  "DON'TS" 

Don't  say  "A  tragedy  that  cost  the  lives  of 
one  boy  and  perhaps  of  a  second,"  but  "A 
tragedy  that  cost  the  life  of  one  boy  and 
may  cost  that  of  a  second."  A  boy  has  only 
one  life.  The  tragedy  referred  to  actually 
cost  one  life  up  to  the  time  of  going  to 
press;  the  possibility  that  eventually  it 
might  cost  another  does  not  justify  the  use 
of  "lives,"  even  with  the  qualifying  word 
"perhaps"  or  the  word  "second." 

Don't  use  "one  or  both"  to  qualify  a 
plural  noun,  as  "one"  is  singular  and 
"both"  is  plural.  Example:  "Some  of  the 
hospital  inmates  were  without  one  or  both 
arms."  A  careful  writer  would  have  said 
that  some  lacked1  one  arm  and  some  both 
arms. 

CONSUMMATE— No  respectable  newspa- 
per ever  "consummates"  a  marriage.  The 
reason  will  be  found  in  any  lexicon. 

CONTRADICTIONS  IN  TERMS— Avoid 
such  patent  absurdities  as  "The  aviator 
landed  on  the  water"  and  "the  Arnold  sys- 
tem of  subways  will  cover  the  entire  city." 
One  "lands  on  the  ground"  and  "alights  on 
the  water."  A  subway  "extends  under  a 
city,"  but,  not  being  a  roof,  cannot  be  said 
to  "cover"  it. 

CORPORAL,  CORPOREAL— Don't  con- 
fuse them.  "Corporal"  signifies  "bodily" 
as  opposed  to  mental,  as  in  "corporal  pun- 
ishment." "Corporeal"  signifies  "mate- 
rial" as  opposed  to  spiritual,  as  in  "a  cor- 
poreal form." 

CORPSE— This  is  another  favorite  word 
tt  the  undertaker.  Say  "body." 

COUPLE,  PAIR— Despite  the  difference 
in  their  meanings,  these  words  are  used 
often  as  if  they  were  synonymous.  Couple, 
as  defined  by  Webster,  means  two  of  the 
same  kind  connected  or  considered  together; 
a  male  and  female  associated  together,  espe- 
cially a  man  and)  woman  married,  betrothed 
or  partners  in  a  dance,  as  "a  married 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        25 

couple"  or  "first  couple"  in  a  quadrille. 
"Couple"  applies  to  two  things  of  the  same 
sort,  regarded  as  in  some  way  associated, 
but  not  necessarily  (except  in  the  case  of 
two  married  or  betrothed  persons)  matched 
or  belonging  together.  Do  not  use  it  for 
"two,"  as  in:  "A  couple  of  apples."  "Pair" 
means  two  things  of  a  kind,  similar  in  form, 
sultedi  to  each  other  and  intended  to  be 
used  together,  as  a  pair  of  gloves;  or  a  sin- 
gle thing  composed]  of  two  corresponding 
parts,  as  a  pair  of  shears;  or  two  of  a  sort 
associated  together,  as  a  pair  of  horses. 
"Pair,"  in  modern  usage,  applies  to  two 
things  which  belong  or  are  used  together, 
frequently  so  that  one  is  useless  or  defective 
without  the  other.  Nowadays  one  does  not 
speak  of  "a  married  pair,"  but  "a  married- 
couple."  Meaning  two,  the  word  "couple" 
is  plural  and  requires  a  plural  verb.  "Pair," 
indicating  unity,  requires  a  singular  verb. 


DATA— This  is  a  plural  noun,  like  memo- 
randa, and  requires  a  plural  verb. 

DELICIOUS — Refers  primarily  to  the 
pleasure  derived  from  certain  of  the  senses, 
particularly  taste  and  smell,  as,  delicious 
food,  a  delicious  fragrance.  Most  good 
newspapers  are  content  so  to  limit  its 
meaning,  and,  instead  of  saying  "delicious 
music"  or  "delicious  humor,"  to  say  "de- 
lightful," "fine,"  "charming,"  etc. 

DEMEAN— Don't  misuse  it  for  "degrade," 
"debase"  or  "disgrace."  The  word  means 
"to  behave"  or  "conduct"  (oneself),  as  in: 
"He  demeans  himself  like  a  gentleman." 

DENOTEMENT— Don't  use  it,  as  in  "her 
denotement  of  grief,"  when  you  mean  "por- 
trayal." "Denotement"  means  "sign,"  "in- 
dication," and  the  two  principal  diction- 
aries agree  in  terming  it  "rare."  "Por- 
trayal" means  dramatic  representation, 
acting,  and  is  precisely  the  word  required*. 


26  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

DEPOSITARY,  DEPOSITORY  —  Don't 
confuse  them.  "Depositary"  is  a  person 
with  whom  something  is  deposited;  "depos- 
itory" is  the  place  where  it  is  deposited. 

DEPOT— Don't  use  it  unless  you  mean  a 
storehouse  or  magazine.  The  place  in 
which  a  railway  stores  or  tranships  goods 
properly  may  be  called  a  freight  depot,  a 
warehouse,  freighthouse  or  freight  terminal, 
but  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  "passenger 
depot."  Say  "passenger  station,"  "railway 
station"  or  "station." 

DINER — The  word  means  "one  who 
dines."  Its  use  for  "dining  car"  has  be- 
come common,  but  is  not  approved. 

DIRECT  AND  INDIRECT  DISCOURSE 
—In  the  former  use  the  present  tense  and 
quote;  in  the  latter  use  the  past  tense  and 
do  not  quote.  In  indirect  discourse,  after 
a  main  verb  in  the  past  tense,  the  present 
tense  cannot  be  used.  Example:  "He 
wrote  that  'my  policy  is  the  only  one  cal- 
culated to  bring  relief.'  "  This  should  be: 
"He  wrote:  'My  policy  is  the  only  one  cal- 
culated to  bring  relief,'  "  or:  "He  wrote 
that  his  policy  was  the  only  one  (that  was) 
calculated  to  bring  relief."  The  word 
"that"  after  "wrote"  or  "said"  throws  the 
quotation  into  indirect  discourse  and  com- 
pels the  use  of  the  past  tense  and  the  third 
person. 

DIRECTLY — Don't  use  it  for  "as  soon 
as."  Example:  "Directly  he  arrived  in  the 
city  he  went  to  his  hotel." 

DISCOMMODE  —  Practically  replaced 
nowadays  by  "incommode." 

DISORDERLY,  DISREPUTABLE—  A 
house  may  be  disorderly  without  being  dis- 
reputable, or  it  may  be  disreputable  with- 
out being  disorderly.  If  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  speak  of  a  house  of  ill-fame,  say 
"disreputable  house,"  or  "house  of  ill- 
repute,"  "brothel,"  or  "dive"  Do  not  locate 
it,  except  as  in  a  named  street,  unless  its 
location  by  street  and  number  is  an  essen- 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        27 

tial  point  in  an  important  crime  story  or  a 
reform  crusade.  In  any  event  do  not  ad- 
vertise the  name  of  the  keeper.  The  use 
of  the  word  "resort"  in  this  sense  is  im- 
proper, unless  preceded  by  the  word  "evil," 
because  "resort"  also  has  an  innocent  mean- 
ing1. The  recent  employment  of  "resort" 
instead  of  "summer  resort"  so  offended  a 
reputable  hotel-keeper  in  a  suburb  of  Chi- 
cago that  a  retraction  was  demanded  and 
printed. 

DIVERS,  DIVERSE— Don't  confuse 
them.  "Divers"  means  "sundry"  or  "vari- 
ous," while  "diverse"  means  "opposite"  or 
"conflicting."  "Divers"  persons,  for  exam- 
ple, naturally  have  "diverse"  tastes. 

DIVORCED — Don't  use  it  alone,  as  in 
"divorced  woman,"  "divorced  man,"  "he 
was  divorced,"  "she  was  divorced,"  "they 
were  divorced,"  if  you  know  or  if  it  is  pos- 
sible to  ascertain  who  obtained  the  divorce. 
A  man  may  divorce  his  wife,  and  a  woman 
her  husband,  but  the  quoted  expressions 
merely  indicate  that  a  divorce  was  granted, 
without  telling  who  obtained  it,  while  the 
first  and  fourth  may  cast  a  slur  upon  an  in- 
nocent woman.  Always  state  plainly,  when 
possible,  who  obtained  the  divorce. 

DOMESTIC— Don't  use  it  as  a  noun.  Say 
"servant,"  "housemaid"  or  "maid." 

DRASTIC — A  "good"  word  when  used 
properly  and  not  too  often,  but  somewhat 
overworked  and  should  be  reserved  for  im- 
portant subjects  and  rare  occasions.  "Rad- 
ical," "extreme"  and  "harsh"  are  accept- 
able substitutes  for  everyday  use. 

DRUNK— Don't  use  it.  Say  "intoxi- 
cated." 


EACH  OTHER— Use  this  when  referring 
to  two  persons  and  "one  another"  when  re- 
ferring to  more  than  two. 


28  HINTS  AND  "DON'TS" 

EFFECT,  AFFECT — Don't  use  one  for 
the  other.  "Effect"  means  "to  bring 
about,"  while  "affect"  means  "to  have  an 
influence  upon."  Examples:  "Time  effects 
many  changes";  "the  decision  affects  many 
important  interests." 

ELEGANT— Use  it  sparingly  and  appro- 
priately. Don't  say  "an  elegant  day"  or 
"an  elegant  dinner,"  but  restrict  the  word 
to  its  proper  meaning.  According  to  March 
it  refers  to  something  exquisite  or  refined, 
as  to  dress. 

EMIGRANT,  IMMIGRANT— Distinguish 
between  them.  An  "emigrant"  goes  forth 
from  one  country  to  another,  whereas  an 
"immigrant"  comes  into  a  country.  Rus- 
sians coming  to  America  are  "emigrants," 
from  a  European  standpoint;  once  they  are 
here,  they  are  "immigrants,"  from  our 
standpoint. 

ENGLISH— Don't  say  "English  govern- 
ment" for  "British  government."  Scotsmen 
and  Irishmen  who  support  the  government, 
as  well  as  Canadians,  Australians  and  oth- 
ers who  consider  themselves  part  of  the 
British  Empire,  object  to  the  term  "Eng- 
lish government"  In  this  connection.,  also, 
"Scotsmen"  is  preferable  to  "Scotchmen." 
The  Scots  prefer  "Scotsmen." 

EPITHET— The  expression  "a  noble 
man"  or  "an  honor  to  her  sex"  is  an  epithet 
equally  with  "a  fiend  incarnate."  Properly 
an  epithet  is  an  expression  applied  to  any 
person  or  thing,  and  may  be  a  term  of  honor 
or  dishonor. 

EXAGGERATION— Avoid  it  in  all  serious 
writing.  Don't  say  "The  applause  shook 
the  very  rafters,"  or  "Belmont  Park  rocked 
and  roared  with  an  outburst  of  wild,  uncon- 
trolled enthusiasm,"  or  a  theater  audience 
"did  not  dare  to  breathe,"  because  no  intel- 
ligent reader  will  believe  you.  You  can  put 
strength  and  color  into  your  "stories"  with- 
out laying  on  exaggeration  with  a  trowel. 
In  short,  be  sane. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        29 

EXCEPT— Don't  use  it  for  "unless,"  as 
in:  "Except  you  have  a  ticket  you  cannot 
ride."  "Except"  sometimes  is  used  prop- 
erly as  a  conjunction,  but  it  cannot  be  used 
so  here. 

EXCLUSIVE — This  word  has  been  over- 
worked. It  is  unnecessary  and  in  bad  taste 
to  speak  of  an  "exclusive  colony"  or  an  "ex- 
clusive neighborhood." 


FARTHER,  FURTHER— "Farther"  re- 
fers properly  to  distance.  Restrict  it  to 
that  sense.  "Further"  should  be  used  only 
in  such  expressions  as  "He  said  further" 
end  "Further  it  is  to  be  considered." 

FASHIONABLE— Don't  use  it  to  describe 
a  boarding-house;  say  "select,"  "choice" 
or  "genteel." 

F1LJBUSTERER— Both  this  and  "filibus- 
ter" mean  one  who  resorts  to  obstructive 
tactics.  But  "filibuster"  also  means  the 
tactics  themselves.  Don't  use  "filibus- 
terer,"  meaning  the  agent,  as  it  was  used 
recently,  when  you  really  mean  "filibuster," 
signifying  the  action. 

FIND — Be  careful  how  you  use  it.  Ordi- 
narily it  means  to  "discover."  It  also 
means  to  "hold,"  "determine,"  "declare,"  as 
when  a  jury  "finds"  a  defendant  guilty. 
The  following  sentence  is  faulty:  "Finding 
that  the  tuberculin  test  of  cows  is  unrelia- 
ble, the  commission  reported  unfavorably 
on  the  plan  of  the  Chicago  Health  depart- 
ment." As  thus  used,  '"finding"  might 
imply  a  discovery  by  the  commission  with 
\nhich  the  paper  printing  it  agreed.  In  fact, 
however,  the  commission  merely  declared 
that  in  its  opinion  the  test  was  unreliable. 
Hence  the  writer  should  have  said  "hold- 
ing," "declaring"  or  "asserting,"  thus  put- 
ting the  responsibility  for  the  statement 
clearly  upon  the  persons  making  it  and  not 
upon  the  paper  printing  it. 


30  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

FIRE  LADDIES — No  newspaper  of  the 
first  class  uses  this  weak,  puerile  diminu- 
tive. Say  "firemen." 

FIRM — Don't  refer  to  an  insurance  com- 
pany as  a  "firm."  Two  or  more  insurance 
agents  may  constitute  a  firm,  but  an  insur- 
ance company  cannot.  It  is  a  company  or 
a  "concern." 

FIX— Don't  use  it  in  different  senses,  at 
least  not  in  the  same  sentence  or  paragraph, 
as  in  "fixing  the  blame,"  "fixing  a  car- 
riage," "fixing  a  date,"  etc.  Properly  it 
means  "to  make  fast,"  and  careful  writers- 
restrict  it  to  that  meaning  instead  of  using 
it  indiscriminately  for  "to  place,"  "to 
mend,"  "to  make,"  etc. 

FLAY — Don't  use  it  in  heads  or  in 
"stories"  for  "criticise,"  "censure,"  etc.,  un- 
less you  add  that  the  "flaying"  was  verbal 
or  figurative.  "Flay"  means  "to  skin";  also 
"to  torture." 

FORTUNE — This  word  is  used  most 
loosely.  Often  the  real  meaning  is  simply 
"a  competency."  To  be  accurate  and  rea- 
sonable, say  "large  fortune"  or  "small  for- 
tune," as  the  case  may  be. 

FUNNY— Don't  -use  it  when  you  mean 
"strange"  or  "remarkable." 


GAMBLING-HOUSES— Do  not  advertise 
them  by  locating  them,  unless  definite  loca- 
tion is  an  essential  element  in  an  important 
crime  story  or  a  reform  crusade. 

GIRL,  HIRED  GIRL— Don't  use  either. 
Say  "servant,"  "housemaid,"  or  "maid." 

GOODLY — Most  good  newspapers  restrict 
"goodly"  to  its  primary  meaning  of  "come- 
ly" and  instead  of  "goodly  number"  say 
"large  number"  or  "considerable  number." 

GORE,  GORY— Avoid  the  use  of  these  as 
you  would  the  use  of  "blood"  and  "bloody. '* 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        31 

GREATER  NEW  YORK— The  best  New 
York  papers  do  not  use  the  term,  but  say 
New  York  City. 

GRILL — Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of  "crit- 
icise," "censure,"  etc.  To  "grill"  means 
to  "broil  on  a  gridiron."  You  might  as  well 
uay  "fry  an  opponent"  as  to  say  "grill  an 
opponent." 

GUEST — Primarily  a  "guest"  is  one 
whom  you  entertain  at  your  home.  Usage 
permits  the  application  of  the  word  to  a 
person  staying  at  a  hotel,  which  usually 
"entertains"  him  for  pay.  For  this  reason 
some  papers  prefer  to  call  such  a  person  a 
"patron."  If  you  dislike  either  "guest" 
or  "patron,"  say  a  person  is  "registered  at" 
or  is  "staying  at"  such  and  such  a  hotel. 


H 


HACKNEYED  EXPRESSIONS  —  "Bids 
fair,"  while  allowable,  has  been  overworked 
and  should  be  retired  in  favor  of  the  more 
sensible,  more  direct  "seems  likely,"  "prob- 
ably will,"  or  some  other  equivalent  expres- 
sion. 

"Shook  the  dust  of  the  place  off  his  feet" 
is  of  the  highest  origin,  but  has-  been  over- 
worked. It  was  used  recently  to  chronicle 
the  fact  that  a  prisoner  "left"  the  Joliet 
penitentiary. 

Don't  use  such  an  absurd,  extravagant, 
would-be  "fine"  expression  as  "knights  of 
the  grip"  for  "commercial  travelers,"  "trav- 
eling salesmen"  or  "drummers."  It  is  a  fit 
companion  of  "the  lacteal  fluid"  and  other 
expressions  dear  to  the  rural  journalist. 

"Cheered  to  the  echo"  has  done  service  BO 
long  that  it  might  be  well  occasionally  to 
say  "cheered"  and  forget  the  echo. 

"Fears"  and  "hopes"  are  not  "enter- 
tained" in  the  best  newspapers.  Such  emo- 
tions may  be  felt,  but  to  say  they  are  "en- 
tertained" is  mere  extravagance  and  so- 
called  "fine  writing."  Say  "It  is  feared" 


32  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

and  "It  is  hoped"  and  you  will  say  all  that 
is  necessary.  In  any  event  don't  say  "Fears 
of  his  recovery  are  entertained."  That  im- 
plies regret  at  the  prospect  of  recovery. 
What  you  really  mean  and  should  say  is- 
"It  is  feared  he  will  not  recover." 

Drop  altogether  and  forever  that  absurd 
introductory  flourish,  "It  goes  without  say- 
ing that."  If  the  succeeding  statement 
really  "goes  without  saying,"  say  it  at  once 
and  omit  the  preliminary  palaver. 

Don't  say  "For  seven  long  (or  short> 
years,"  "for  seven  long  (or  short)  months," 
"for  seven  long  (or  short)  weeks,"  "for 
seven  long  (or  short)  days,"  "for  a  few 
brief  moments,"  etc.  Barring  leap  years, 
every  year  comprises  approximately  365V4 
days;  practically,  all  the  years  are  of  equal 
length.  Quadrennially  a  day  is  added  to 
February,  but  with  this  exception  the 
months  are  decently  regular,  year  by  year. 
A  week  consists  of  seven  days,  while  twen- 
ty-four hours  make  a  day,  sixty  minutes  an 
hour  and  sixty  seconds  a  minute.  A  mo- 
ment is  a  minute  division  of  time;  an  in- 
stant. Hence  the  folly  of  qualifying  these 
various  periods  by  "long,"  "short"  or 
"brief"  should  be  apparent.  Curb  the 
temptation  to  indulge  in  "fine  writing"  and 
omit  the  adjective. 


help  to  perpetuate  those  outworn 
phrases,  "Severed  his  connection"  and  "ten- 
dered his  resignation."  For  the  former  sub- 
stitute "quit,"  "left,"  or  anything  else 
that  will  convey  the  idea;  for  the  latter  say 
"resigned."  When  a  janitor  "severs  his 
connection"  or  "tenders  his  resignation"  it 
is  time  to  call  a  halt.  "Severs  his  connec- 
tion," moreover,  is  unpleasantly  suggestive 
of  a  surgical  operation.  The  suggestion  is 
heightened  when,  in  referring  to  a  person 
who  has  left  a  business  association,  it  Is 
said  he  has  "severed  his  connection  with 
that  body,"  as  the  fact  was  stated  recently- 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STJLE        33 

Let  the  "severing"  be  done  hereafter  in 
surgical  wards,  not  in  the  columns  of 
THE  RECORD-HERALD. 

"Solon"  means,  among  other  things,  a 
"legislator,"  but  the  word  in  this  sense  has 
been  overworked  and  cheapened  by  applying 
it  indiscriminately  to  members  of  Congress, 
legislatures,  city  councils,  county  boards, 
boards  of  trustees,  etc.  Thus  we  see  con- 
stantly "Solon,"  "State  Solon,"  "City 
Solon,"  "Village  Solon,"  etc.  Drop  "Solon" 
altogether,  or  reserve  it  for  occasional  use 
only,  and  then  restrict  it  to  a  member  of 
come  standing  in  an  important  legislative 
body.  The  absurdity  of  calling  a  Broderick 
or  a  Coughlin  a  "Solon"  should  be  ap- 
parent. 

"City  father"  is  as  bad  as  "Solon,"  and 
"City  dad"  is  even  worse.  Both  should'  be 
retired  in  favor  of  "alderman,"  "council- 
man," or  "member  of  the  council." 

Don't  say  "municipal  building"  for  "city 
hall,"  or  "inquisitorial  body"  for  "grand 
jury." 

Retire  "victory  perched  on  his  banner," 
which  has  served  since  the  middle  ages,  if 
not  longer,  and  substitute  something  more 
modern  to  convey  the  simple  idea  of  victory. 

Another  overworked  veteran  is  "leave  no 
stone  unturned,"  which  often  is  used  with- 
out the  least  sense  of  appropriateness,  as  in 
the  following  recent  example:  "The  jury 
will  leave  no  stone  unturned  in  delving  into 
the  legal  phase  of  the  authority  by  which 
dynamite  in  such  quantities  is  stored  in  Jer- 
sey City."  As  a  matter  of  fact  that  particu- 
lar jury  will  look  up  law  books,  not  stones. 

Don't  let  anybody  "whip  out"  a  "gun," 
revolver,  pistol,  bowie  knife  or  any  other 
weapon.  The  "whipping  out"  will  be  infer- 
able from  the  fact  of  an  actual  or  attempted 
shooting  or  stabbing;  rapid  instead  of  leis- 
urely handling  of  firearms  and  knives  is  as- 
sumed. A  revolver  or  a  pistol  is  not  a 


34  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

"gun,"  and-  to  "whip  out"  the  latter  would 
be  physically  impossible.  Nor  is  it  neces- 
sary, as  a  rule,  to  advertise  the  make  of  a 
weapon  by  using  the  expression,  "Colt's" 
or  "derringer,"  or  to  specify  its  size  by  say- 
ing "32  (or  other)  caliber."  When  it  becomes 
necessary  to  do  this,  for  the  purpose  of 
showing  that  a  wound  was  inflicted  by  a 
weapon  of  a  certain  kind  or  size,  make  the 
fact  apparent  that  identification  is  the  im- 
portant point  at  issue. 

Discard  such  stale  expressions  as  "old 
Sol,"  "fair  Luna"  and  "Dan  Cupid"  and 
say  "sun,"  "moon"  and  "Cupidf." 

HAD— Few  words  in  the  language  are 
abused  more  often.  An  alderman  "had  an 
order  passed,"  as  if  it  was  necessary  only  to 
issue  a  fiat  to  the  City  Council  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  the  victim  of  an  accident  "had  his 
neck  broken,"  implying  deliberate  intention. 
Writing  correctly,  you  will  say:  "On  mo- 
tion of  Alderman  Blank  an  order  was 
passed"  and  "his  neck  was  broken."  If 
several  orders  are  passed,  use  this  form: 
"The  following  orders  presented  by  the  ald- 
ermen named  were  passed:" 

By  Alderman  Blank — For  a  sidewalk,  etc. 

By  Alderman  Jones — For  an  extension  of  water 
pipes,  etc. 

HAD  BETTER— This  expression  for 
"would  better"  or  "might  better,"  as  in  "I 
had  better  starve  than  do  anything  dishon- 
est," although  formerly  of  good  repute,  is 
falling  into  deserved  disuse.  "Had  starve" 
is  grammatically  impossible,  and  the  addi- 
tion of  "better"  helps  the  case  not  at  all. 
The  use  of  "had  better"  nowadays  is  con- 
fined to  literary  reactionaries  and  "stand- 
patters," to  the  careless  and  to  the  igno- 
rant. 

HALED— If  one  is  pulled  with  force, 
dragged,  or  hauled  to  the  place  of  trial,  the 
expression  "haled  to  court"  is  allowable; 
otherwise,  not.  In  civilized  countries  one  is 
"taken  to  court"  ordinarily. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        35 

HALF— Don't  say  "a  half  hour"  for  "half 
an  hour,"  which  follows  analogy  and  a  long 
line  of  precedents.  Don't  say  "cut  in  half." 
What  you  mean  is  "cut  in  halves." 

HANGAR — According  to  the  latest  ter- 
minology of  aviation  the  word  is  discarded 
in  favor  of  the  simple  but  adequate  English 
word  "shed." 

HERO— Don't  use  it  so  often  as  to 
cheapen  it.  Bestow  it  only  upon  a  person 
who  performs  a  real  act  of  heroism. 

HIT — Don't  use  it  in  heads  or  "stories"  In 
the  sense  of  "assail,"  "attack,"  "criticise," 
"censure,"  "impugn"  or  "rebuke."  It  can 
mean  none  of  these  things  except  figura- 
tively. When  so  used  it  necessarily  and 
unpleasantly  suggests  the  idea  of  a  physical 
attack.  Substitute  another  word.  This 
may  be  done  in  a  headline  by  changing  the 
construction  so  that  "hit"  will  not  be  nec- 
essary. The  "hit"  limit  was  reached  re- 
cently in  the  head:  "Miss  Pankhurst  Hits 
Women  of  the  West."  "Suffragette  Re- 
bukes Women  of  the  West"  would  have 
been  better. 

HOLLAND  HOUSE— The  name  of  this 
well-known  New  York  hotel  is  "Holland 
House,"  "not  "the  Holland  House."  Simi- 
larly, say  "Hotel  La  Salle,"  not  "La  Salle 
Hotel,"  and  "Hotel  Sherman,"  not  "Sher- 
man Hotel."  Always,  when  known,  use  the 
name  given  to  a  hotel  by  its  proprietors. 

HOT — Figuratively  speaking,  a  fight  may 
be  "hot,"  but  the  word  has  been  overworked 
without  reason  in  applying  it  to  all  sorts  of 
fights,  chiefly  political.  Frequently  another 
word,  like  "brisk,"  "close,"  "exciting," 
"furious,"  "lively,"  "stubborn,"  or  even 
"warm,"  will  be  found  to  describe  the  situ- 
ation exactly. 

HOW — Don't  use  it  as  a  conjunction  for 
"as."  Example:  "People  get  their  revela- 
tion how  they  can."  This  is  a  rank  Briti- 
cism, and  archaic  at  that.  Say  "People  get 
their  revelation  as  they  can." 


36  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 


IDENTITY — Often  used  loosely,  as  in: 
"The  police  have  not  learned  the  man's 
identity,"  meaning  merely  that  they  have 
not  learned  his  name  or  history.  "Identity" 
properly  means  "sameness,"  as  in:  "The 
identity  of  the  prisoner  with  the  man  seen 
skulking  about  the  house  the  night  of  the 
murder."  It  would  be  well  to  restrict  the 
word  to  that  meaning.  Its  use  for  "name" 
is  only  another  example  of  the  desire  to 
indulge  in  "fine  writing." 

ILLY— Don't  use  it.  Say  "ill,"  which  is 
an  adverb  as  well  as  an  adjective.  One 
might  as  well  say  "welly"  as  "illy." 

INAUGURAL,  INAUGURATE— Don't  use 
the  former  as  a  noun,  as  in:  "President 
Taft  delivered .  his  inaugural."  You  should 
say  "inaugural  address."  The  word  "inau- 
gurate" is  abused  grievously  and  often.  It 
means  to  induct  into  office  with  suitable 
ceremonies;  to  invest  with  power  or  author- 
ity in  a  formal  manner.  Thus,  a  president 
or  a  governor  is  inaugurated,  but  a  hotel 
is  not,  a  saloon  is  not,  and  a  policy  is  not 
unless  some  inaugural  ceremonies  mark  Its 
beginning.  The  proper  substitute  is  "in- 
stall." Sometimes  "begin"  or  "initiate"  may 
be  used  with  propriety. 

INVIDIOUS  DISTINCTIONS  —  Avoid 
them.  Do  not  array  capital  and  labor 
against  each  other;  do  not  speak  of  the 
"classes"  and  the  "masses."  In  a  crime  or 
suicide  "story"  do  not  refer  to  the  nation- 
ality, race  or  religion  of  the  criminal  or  the 
suicide,  unless  the  nationality,  race  or  re- 
ligion is  an  essential,  inseparable  element  in 
the  "story."  Hence  do  not  use  in  such 
"stories"  the  expressions  "Russian  Jew," 
"negro,"  etc.,  unless  under  the  exceptional 
circumstances  referred  to. 

IRE — Don't  overwork  it  in  heads.  Say 
"anger"  once  in  a  while,  if  only  for  the  sake 
of  a  change. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STTLE        37 

J 

JAP— Barred  in  heads  and  "stories"  by 
the  best  newspapers  as  an  abbreviation  for 
Japanese. 

JEW,  JEWISH,  HEBREW,  ISRAELITE 
— Use  "Jew"  and  "Jewish"  in-  referring-  to 
the  Jewish  people,  race,  or  religion,  and  use 
"Hebrew"  only  in  referring  to  the  language. 
But  do  not  sav  "Jewish  nation";  it  does  not 
exist.  An  "Israelite"  is  a  descendant  of 
Israel,  or  Jacob;  a  Jew. 

K 

KNOW— Avoid  the  "you  know"  and 
"don't  you  know"  habit.  Both  expressions 
are  used  frequently  without  the  slightest 
reason.  "You  know"  properly  may  intro- 
duce a  truism  or  some  particular  fact  known 
to  the  person  addressed,  but  should  not  be 
used  loosely. 


LADY — As  a  rule,  say  "woman."  In  any 
event,  don't  say  "a  man  and  a  lady,"  but 
"a  man  and  a  woman";  nor  "a  man  and  his 
lady,"  but  "a  man  and  his  wife."  Associate 
"man"  and  "woman,"  "man"  and  "wife" 
and  "gentleman,"  and  "lady,"  if  the  last- 
named  words  are  used  at  all. 

LAST— Don't  use  it  when  you  mean 
"latest."  There  is  an  essential  difference. 
For  example,  a  living  author's  "latest"  book 
may  not  be  his  "last." 

LEAKED  OUT— Barred  by  some  good  pa- 
pers. It  is  better  to  use  "became  known," 
"became  public,"  "transpired,"  or  other 
equivalent  expressions. 

LEARN,  TEACH— It  is  inexcusable  to 
confuse  or  misuse  these.  One  "teaches" 
pupils,  but  does  not  "learn"  them;  the  pu- 
pils "learn." 


38  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

LEGISLATIVE  TERMS— Don't  say  a  res- 
olution was  "passed."  It  never  is  "passed," 
but  is  "adopted,"  or  "fails  of  adoption,"  or 
is  "lost,"  or  "defeated."  A  motion  also 
never  is  "passed."  It  is  "carried,"  or  "pre- 
vails," or  is  "lost"  or  "defeated."  An 
amendment  or  substitute  is  "accepted"  by 
the  maker  of  an  original  motion,  or  the 
author  of  a  bill,  and  then  is  "adopted,"  or 
not  adopted,  by  the  body.  Bills  and  orders 
are  "passed."  and  laws  are  "enacted." 

LENGTHY— Favorite  word  with  British 
speakers  and  writers,  but  practically  dis- 
carded in  this  country  in  favor  of  "long." 

LESS,  FEWER — "Less"  applies  to  quan- 
tity and  "fewer"  to  number.  Hence  don't 
say  "no  man  ever  had  less  friends,"  but 
"fewer  friends." 

LIABLE — The  best  newspapers  do  not  use 
it  for  "likely,"  even  though  the  lexicogra- 
phers do. 

LIE,  LAY — It  would  seem  unnecessary  at 
this  late  day  to  instruct  writers  and  copy- 
readers  regarding  the  proper  use  of  these 
verbs,  meaning  respectively  "to  recline"  and 
"to  place."  But  the  recently  printed  state- 
ment, "he  had  lain  his  shotgun  on  the 
ground,"  would  indicate  the  contrary. 
"Lain"  is  the  pluperfect  tense  of  "lie."  The 
pluperfect  of  "lay,"  which  is  the  verb  to  be 
used,  is  "laid." 

LIGHT,  LIGHTS— Don't  say  "according 
to  his  lights,"  but  "according  to  his  light." 
The  word  "lights"  means  "lungs." 

LIKE — This  may  be  a  noun,  adjective, 
verb  or  adverb,  but  is  not  a  conjunction. 
Hence  don't  say  "It  looks  like  this  is  our 
only  chance,"  but  "It  looks  as  if  (or  though) 
this  is  our  only  chance." 

LIKE,  LOVE — Make  the  proper  distinc- 
tion. A  man  "likes"  the  works  of  a  certain 
author,  which  please  his  taste;  he  "loves" 
his  family,  which  appeals  to  his  affections. 

LIKELY — As  an  adverb  the  tendency  is 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,   STJLE        39 

to  use  it  to  modify  only  adjectives,  not 
verbs.  Thus,  "You  are  very  likely  right" 
is  unexceptionable,  but  "You  will  likely 
fail"  should  give  place  to  "You  are  likely 
(adjective)  to  fail,"  or  "You  probably  will 
fail." 

LIVE,  RESIDE — One  may  "live,"  i.  e., 
"exist,"  at  an  office  as  much  as  at  home. 
"Reside"  suggests  permanence  and  some- 
thing pretentious.  If  a  substitute  for  either 
expression  is  desired,  say  "His  home  is  at 
such  and  such  a  number  on  such  and  such 
a  street." 

LOTS — Don't  use  it  for  "a  great  many" 
or  "much,"  as  in:  "Lots  of  diamonds," 
"lots  of  money." 

LOVELY— This  adjective  has  been  abused 
by  applying  it  haphazard  to  all  sorts  of 
pretty  or  agreeable  things,  as  in:  "A  lovely 
<3ress,"  "lovely  ride,"  "lovely  hat,"  "lovely 
view,"  "lovely  melody,"  "lovely  breeze," 
etc.  The  portrayal  of  character  by  an 
actress  may  be  charming  or  delightful,  but 
it  is  not  "lovely."  March  defines  "lovely" 
as  "attractive,"  "lovable,"  and  admonishes 
that  "it  should  be  used  only  in  connection 
with  things  which  stir  the  affections." 


M 


MAD — Don't  say  "mad"  when  you  mean 
"angry."  A  "mad"  person  is  one  bereft  of 
reason;  an  insane  person. 

MARRY — A  man  marries  a  woman;  a 
woman  is  married  to  a  man;  or,  the  man 
and  the  woman  marry,  or  are  married.  No 
man  ever  should  be  "married  to"  a  woman 
and  no  woman  should  "marry"  a  man  in 
THE  RECORD-HERALD. 

MAST— Don't  say  a  flag  displayed  on  land 
was  at  full  "mast"  or  half  "mast,"  but  at 
full  "staff"  or  half  "staff."  "Mast"  is  a 
naval  and  "staff"  an  army  term. 

MIDDLING— Discard  it  and  say  "toler- 
ably" or  "fairly." 


40  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

MILITIA— This  term  includes  all  able- 
bodied  male  citizens  between  the  ages  of  18 
and  40  years.  When  organized,  they  consti- 
tute the  National  Guard.  Do  not  refer  to  a 
national  guardsman,  therefore,  as  a  militia- 
man. For  brevity,  in  heads,  he  may  be 
called,  a  guard. 

MILLIONAIRE— This  is  a  noun,  meaning 
a  person  worth  a  million  or  more,  and  not  an 
adjective;  but  many  writers  and  copy- 
readers  persist  in  misapplying  it  as  a  noun 
and  in  misusing  it  as  an  adjective,  as  in: 
"Millionaire  packer,"  "millionaire  attorney," 
"millionaire  banker,"  and  "millionaire" 
everything  else;,  whenever  a  man  appears  to 
have  a  competency.  This  is  very  cheap,  in 
bad  form  and  will  not  be  permitted  in 
THE  RECORD-HERALD. 

MONSTER — Don't  use  it  as  an  adjective. 
The  circus  men  do  so  to  signify  huge,  enor- 
mous, vast,  gigantic,  colossal  and  the  like, 
but  the  circus  men  are  not  noted  for  nicety 
of  language. 

MOST— Don't  use  it  for  "almost"  as  in: 
"Most  any  kind  of  servant."  This  expression 
was  attributed  recently  by  a  careless  writer 
to  a  noted  Evanston  woman  whose  English 
is  impeccable. 


N 


NAMES — The  expression  "of  the  name  of" 
is  as  awkward  as  it  is  unnecessary.  Don't 
say  "A  dentist  of  the  name  of  Paul  Mar- 
tin, who  resides  at  2642  Calumet  avenue," 
but  "A  dentist  named  Paul  Martin,  who 
resides,"  etc.,  or,  better,  "Paul  Martin,  a 
dentist,  of  2642  Calumet  avenue."  Retain 
the  "of"  before  the  street  address.  The 
brevity  of  "Paul  Martin,  2642  Calumet  ave- 
nue," is  suggestive  of  a  city  directory 
rather  than  of  a  well  written  newspaper. 
Don't  say  "a  woman  of  the  name  of  Stein," 
but  "a  woman  named  Stein,"  or,  better, 
call  her  Miss  or  Mrs.,  as  the  case  may  be, 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,   STYLE        41 

and  give  her  Christian  name.  These  are 
details  which  a  reporter  always  should  as- 
certain. In  a  large  city  many  women  are 
likely  to  bear  the  name  "Stein."  Above 
all,  don't  say  "A  woman  named  Jennie 
Smith,"  or  "A  man  named  Tom  Jones." 
The  name  indicates  the  sex. 

Special  care  should  be  used  in  regard  to 
the  names  of  clergymen.  A  Roman  Cath- 
olic priest  must  not  be  called  "Rev.  Mr. 
O'Gara."  He  is  "Rev.  Joseph  O'Gara,"  or 
"Rev.  Father  O'Gara,"  or  "Father  O'Gara." 
Never  write  "Rev.  Smith."  Write  "Rev. 
John  Smith"  or  "Rev.  Dr.  John  Smith." 
After  the  full  name  has  been  given  do  not 
repeat  in  stilted,  formal  style  each  time 
the  gentleman  is  mentioned  "Rev.  Mr. 
Smith,"  but  write  "Mr.  Smith"  or  "Dr. 
Smith,"  as  the  case  may  be.  Note  particu- 
larly that  the  pastor  of  the  Central  Church 
is  Dr.  Frank  W.  Gunsaulus,  that  the  head 
of  Sinai  Temple  is  Dr.  Emil  G.  Hirsch,  and 
that  the  preacher  at  Abraham  Lincoln 
Center  by  his  own  expressed  preference  is 
plain  Jenkin  Lloyd  Jones. 

Don't  mutilate  names  by  abbreviating 
them.  It  is  little  short  of  a  crime  to  print 
"Chas."  for  "Charles,"  "Jno."  for  "John," 
"Jas."  for  "James,"  "Jos."  for  "Joseph," 
or  "Wm."  for  "William." 

Do  not  print  the  names  of  members  of 
THE  RECORD-HERALD  staff,  or  the  names 
of  other  papers  and  the  members  of  their 
staffs,  unless  the  mention  of  the  names 
is  a  matter  of  real  news.  Under  no  cir- 
cumstances should  the  name  of  any  paper 
be  drawn  in  or  serve  to  identify  a  person, 
unless  the  connection  is  an  important  ele- 
ment in  a  "story"  in  which  the  paper  fig- 
ures. A  savor  of  rural  journalism  attaches 
to  the  publication  of  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Blank  of  THE  RECORD-HERALD  was  toast- 
master  or  speaker  at  a  dinner,  or  that  he 
attended  some  other  function.  Omit  the 
name  of  the  paper.  Exceptions:  "By  Wil- 


42  HINTS  AND   "BON'TS" 

liam  E.  Curtis,"  "By  Sumner,"  etc.,  and 
"By  So-and-So,  Staff  Correspondent,  etc." 
The  name  of  William  E.  Curtis  and  his 
connection  with  THE  RECORD-HERALD  also 
may  be  used  in  a  head  and  in  the  body,  of 
an  article.  These  names  are  assets  of  the 
paper  and  are  advertised  accordingly. 

NEITHER-NOR,  EITHER-OR— When  you 
use  "neither,"  also  use  "nor."  "Either"  is 
followed  by  "or." 

NICE — The  word  has  been  overworked  to 
express  quality  indiscriminately,  as  in: 
"Nice  fruit,"  "nice  play"  and  "nice"  almost 
everything.  Especially  don't  use  it  when 
intending  to  speak  in  a  complimentary  way 
of  a  man.  No  real  man  would  care  to  be 
known  as  "a  nice  man."  Substitute  "fine," 
"agreeable"  or  some  other  synonym. 

NO  USE— "Of"  must  precede  it,  as  in: 
"It  is  of  no  use  to  repine." 

NONE — This  word  means  "no  one"  and 
"not  anything,"  but  as  a  plural  it  means 
also  "not  any."  Hence  the  recent  dictum 
of  a  school  of  critics,  that  it  always  must 
be  followed  by  a  singular  verb,  will  not 
stand.  When  the  meaning  obviously  is 
singular,  use  a  singular  verb;  when  obvi- 
ously plural,  use  a  plural  verb. 

NOTHING  LIKE— Don't  use  it  for  "not 
nearly,"  as  in:  "He  is  nothing  like  as  rich 
as  you  are." 

NOW  — Frequently  no  harm  will  be  done 
by  omitting  it,  as  in  the  sentence:  "All 
classes  here  believe  that  the  end  is  near 
for  the  present  government  and  that  its 
downfall  now  is  only  a  question  of  a  short 
time."  Here  "now"  is  wholly  superfluous; 
in  fact,  the  entire  second  clause  in  the  sen- 
tence is  redundant,  the  idea  having  been 
conveyed  adequately  in  the  first. 


OCCUR— Don't    say    "the     marriage     oc- 
curred" unless  it  really  is  a  sudden,  chance 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        43 

affair.  A  marriage  usually  is  arranged  in 
advance  for  a  certain  date.  Hence  it  "takes 
place"  and  does  not  "occur." 

OF  COURSE— Like  "you  know,"  it  is 
used  so  often  and  irrelevantly,  especially  in 
conversation,  that  it  has  become  almost 
meaningless.  Employed  occasionally  and 
sparingly,  it  is  effective  in  expressing  em- 
phatic assent  or  assertion. 

OFFICER— Don't  use  it  for  "policeman." 
An  "officer"  is  one  who  holds  an  office,  while 
a  "policeman"  is  an  employe  serving  in  the 
ranks. 

OVATION — Most  good  newspapers  con- 
sider it  extravagant,  and  some  bar  it  alto- 
gether. The  word  should  be  reserved  for  a 
really  great  occasion. 

OVER — Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of  "more 
than." 


PANTS— Discarded  by  all  self-respecting 
newspapers  in  favor  of  "trousers." 

PARAPHERNALIA—  This  is  a  plural 
noun  and  requires  a  plural  verb. 

PARTIAL— In  its  primary  sense  this  word 
means  "biased."  When  it  might  be  taken 
in  this  sense,  although  perhaps  another  is 
intended,  use  a  word  concerning  whose 
meaning  there  is  no  doubt.  Thus,  a  "par- 
tial" report  might  mean  either  a  biased  re- 
port or  a  report  in  part,  i.  e.,  a  report  of 
progress.  It  is  well  in  all  cases  to  be  precise 
and  accurate  and  to  say  exactly  what  you 
mean.  For  the  adverb  "partially,"  unless 
you  intend  to  convey  the  primary  meaning,  it 
it  better  to  say,  uniformly,  "partly"  or  "in 
part."  The  one  thing  to  be  expected  above 
all  else  from  a  judge  is  impartiality.  It 
was  hardly  in  accordance  with  the  niceties 
of  language,,  therefore,  when  a  judge  re- 
cently appointed  to  a  more  exalted  position 
publicly  expressed  the  hope  that  in  due  time 
he  might  "partially"  fill  it. 


44  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

PARTY,  PARTIES— A  party  is  a  body, 
company,  or  association  of  persons;  a  per- 
son concerned  or  interested  in  an  action  or 
affair,  or  the  plaintiff  or  defendant  in  a 
lawsuit.  Don't  use  "party"  when  you  mean 
'person,"  as  in  "a  party  named  Johnson." 

PAST— Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of  "last." 
An  event  that  is  past  occurred  "last  year," 
or  "last  week,"  or  "during  the  last  few 
days,"  not  the  "past  year,"  the  "past 
week"  or  the  "past  few  days."  Every  year, 
week  or  day  since  the  creation  and  until 
the  present  is  "past."  What  you  mean  U 
the  year,  week  or  day  immediately  preced~ 
ing  the  present.  Hence  say  precisely  what 
you  mean,  which  is  "last."  Again,  do  not 
use  the  redundant  expressions  "for  some 
days  past,"  "in  years  past,"  "a  year  past," 
as  in  :  "The  property  has  been  acquired 
piece  by  piece  for  more  than  a  year  past." 
The  form  of  the  verb  used  with  such  phrases 
shows  that  the  time  is  past.  Omit  "past." 

PATROLMAN — Don't  use  it  for  "police- 
man." All  "patrolmen"  are  not  "police- 
men"; some  patrol  coasts  or  electric  light 
lines. 

PEARY — Don't  call  him  "Commander," 
or  "Lieutenant,"  or  "Captain,"  but  "Rear 
Admiral,"  which  is  the  title  bestowed  upon 
him  (1911)  by  the  Sixty-first  Congress. 

PEOPLE — Don't  use  it  when  you  merely 
mean  "persons."  The  word  "people"  sug- 
gests humanity  in  the  mass.  Instead  of 
saying  "six  people  were  present,"  say  "six 
persons." 

PER  DAY— Don't  use  it,  as  in:  "He 
earns  $5  per  day,"  but  say  "a  day."  "Per 
day"  is  half  Latin  and  half  English.  The 
correct  Latin  phrase  would  be  "per  diem." 

PLAIN  CLOTHES  MEN— Don't  use  it; 
say  "detectives."  The  public  isn't  inter- 
ested in  knowing  whether  they  wear  plain 
clothes  or  uniforms. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        45 

POSSESSIVE  CASE— Avoid  the  unneces- 
sary use  of  the  double  possessive,  as  in: 
"A  friend  of  Miss  Roosevelt's."  Say  "A 
friend  of  Miss  Roosevelt"  and  all  will  be 
well.  Formerly  the  double  possessive  would 
have  been  regarded  as  necessary  in  this 
case  to  indicate  that  Miss  Roosevelt  has 
more  than  one  friend.  Now  such  a  fact  is 
assumed. 

PREPOSITIONS— Be  careful  in  their  use. 
Following  are  examples  of  frequently  mis- 
used1 words: 

"At"  for  "in,"  as  in:  "He  lives  at  Gales- 
burg."  When  residence  is  meant  use  "in." 
When  arrival  at  a  point  is  meant  use  "at," 
as  in:  "He  arrived  at  Chicago."  When  a 
larger  field  is  meant  use  "in-,"  as  in:  "He 
arrived  in  America." 

"By"  for  "with,"  as  in:  "He  was  hit 
by  a  club."  Use  "with"  before  an  instru- 
ment or  means  and  say  "He  was  hit  with 
a  club"  Use  "by"  before  an  agent  or  doer, 
as  in:  "He  was  beaten  by  a  footpad." 

"In"  for  "into,"  as  in:  "The  report  was 
divided  in  four  parts." 

"In"  for  "on,"  as  in:  "He  lives  in  Wash- 
ington street."  The  use  of  "in  the  street" 
for  "on  the  street"  dates  back  to  the  days 
when  people  almost  literally  lived  "in  the 
street."  Then  the  streets  were  so  narrow 
that  "in"  was  proper.  Now  one  "lives  in 
the  street"  when  one  has  no  home,  while 
one  clearly  and  definitely  lives  "on  the 
street"  when  one's  residence  borders  the 
street.  But  there  are  exceptions  to  many 
rules.  The  expression,  "he  does  business 
in  Wall  street,"  is  preferred  to  "He  does 
business  on  Wall  street."  Here  "in  Wall 
street"  is  peculiar  and  is  more  definite  and 
descriptive  than  "on  Wall  street."  Sim- 
ilarly, we  speak  of  "the  man  in  the  street," 
not  of  "the  man  on  the  street." 

"Into"  for  "in,"  as  in:  "Jones  started  into 
business,"  "The  robber  placed  the  bar- 
keeper into  the  ice  box." 


46  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

"Of"  for  "from,"  as  in:  "He  died  from 
scarlet  fever."  A  person  dies  "of"  a  dis- 
ease and  dies  "from"  the  effects  of  a  dis- 
ease. 

"Of"  for  "in,"  as  in:  "He  came  to  Garrett 
Biblical  institute  in  1891  as  instructor  of 
history  and  theology."  He  was  an  in- 
structor "of"  students  and  an  instructor 
"in"  history  and  theology. 

"Of"  for  "to,"  as  in:  "Her  divorce  suit 
first  attracted  public  attention  of  her  ro- 
mance." 

"On"  for  "upon,"  as  in:  "The  blame  wa& 
placed  on  him." 

"Onto,"  usually  called  a  colloquialism 
and  barred  in  many  papers  as  inelegant. 
All  that  is  conveyed  by  the  statement,  "She 
came  onto  the  vast  stage  alone,"  would  be 
told  just  as  well,  indeed  better,  had  the 
writer  used  "on"  or  "upon." 

"To"  for  "of,"  as  in:  "With  a  view  tc* 
obtaining,"  "With  a  view  to  determining," 
etc.  Say  "of  obtaining,"  "of  determining," 
etc.,  or  use  the  infinitive  form  "to  obtain," 
"to  determine,"  etc. 

"To"  for  "for,"  as  in:  "A  dinner  was  given 
last  night  to  Prince  Henry."  Actually  and 
properly  the  dinner  was  given  "for  him," 
i.  e.,  in  his  honor.  As  a  scion  of  royalty 
and  abundantly  able  to  pay  for  his  own 
sustenance,  no  one  would  presume  to  give 
a  dinner  "to"  him.  Dinners  are  given  "to" 
persons  who  ask  at  the  door  for  something 
to  eat.  In  the  case  of  anyone  whom  it  is 
sought  to  honor  or  compliment,  the  dinner 
is  given  "for"  him.  In  this  connection, 
also,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  for  the 
same  reason  the  person  honored  is  not 
"given  the  dinner,"  but  that  "the  dinner  is 
given." 

"To"  for  "at,"  as  in:  "He  had  been  to  the 
ball  game."  "To"  implies  direction,  des- 
tination; "at"  a  state  of  rest  in  a  place. 

"To"  for  "instead  of,"  as  in:    "Pie  chose 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        47 

death  to  life  as  a  helpless  cripple."  One 
"prefers"  death  "to"  life  or  one  "chooses" 
death  "instead  of"  life. 

"Differ  from,"  according  to  the  high 
-authority  of  Professor  March,  is  preferred 
to  "differ  with"  where  the  meaning  is  "to 
be  different  from."  Diamonds  "differ  from" 
rubies.  When  you  and  another  person  dis- 
agree in  opinion  concerning  something  you 
"differ  with"  him. 

"Under  the  circumstances"  is  preferable 
to  "in  the  circumstances."  The  former, 
really  meaning  "under  the  surrounding  con- 
ditions," is  clear,  logical  and  backed  by  a 
long  line  of  authorities.  The  latter  really 
means  "within  the  circumstances,"  which 
does  not  express  exactly  the  idea  sought  to 
be  conveyed. 

Don't  end  a  sentence  with  a  preposition, 
as  in:  "These  are  questions  we  must  deal 
with"  for  "with  which  we  must  deal;" 
"Where  has  he  gone  to?"  for  "Where  has 
he  gone?"  "Where  am  I  at?"  for  "Where 
am  I?"  The  "to"  and  "at"  also  are  re- 
dundant. Omit  them. 

Don't  use  "of"  after  verbs  like  "approve," 
''disapprove"  or  "permit,"  as  in:  "I  so 
heartily  enjoy  what  I  so  thoroughly  disap- 
prove of,"  a  supposedly  "smart"  remark 
in  a  current  play;  or  "I  cannot  permit  of 
your  going  so  soon."  These  verbs  do  not 
require  "of."  The  first  example  is  bad  also 
in  that  a  preposition  ends  the  sentence. 
But  there  is  a  clear  distinction  between 
"admit,"  which  means  to  permit  to  enter, 
or  to  concede  as  true,  and  "admit  of," 
which  implies  capability.  You  "admit"  a 
friend  to  your  home  or  you  "admit"  a  fact; 
a  given  situation  "admits  of"  no  com- 
promise. Don't  use  "to"  after  "admit" 
when  the  latter  means  "concede,"  "own," 
"confess,"  as  in:  "Mr.  Davies  admitted  to 
possessing  some  novel  views."  The  prepo- 
sition is  superfluous. 


48  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

"Of"  is  unnecessary  also  before  the  word 
"whether"  in  such  an  expression  as  "The 
question  of  whether  we  shall  go  or  stay." 

Don't  use  "on"  after  "later,"  as  in  the 
expression,  "I'll  see  you  later  on."  It  is 
unnecessary. 

Don't  use  "with"  after  the  verb  "con- 
tinue," as  in  the  sentence,  "They  continued 
with  their  investigation."  "Continued"  is 
sufficient;  omit  "with." 

Don't  use  the  barbarous  expression  "up 
until"  for  "until,"  which  adequately  convej-s 
the  idea  of  "up  to  the  time  that." 

Don't  say  "finish  up."  The  word  "finish" 
is  sufficient. 

Don't  say  "think  for"  for  "think,"  as  in: 
"He  is  older  than  you  think  for."  The  "for" 
is  unnecessary. 

Don't  separate  a  verb  and  a  preposition 
which  naturally  are  joined  and  which  thus 
make  a  compound  verb.  Thus,  don't  "Put 
a  revolt  down,"  but  "Put  down  a  revolt." 

PRETTY— Don't  use  it  in  speaking  of 
girls.  The  word  has  been  overworked.  Be- 
sides, it  is  assumed  always  that  all  girls 
are  "pretty." 

"Pretty"  is  overused  as  an  adverb  in  the 
sense  of  "in  some  degree,"  "somewhat," 
"moderately,"  "considerably,"  "tolerably" 
or  "rather,"  as  in:  "Pretty  good,"  "pretty 
fast,"  "pretty  slow,"  "pretty  sure,"  "pretty 
cold,"  "pretty  plainly."  This  addiction  to 
the  word  "pretty"  has  led  to  the  use  of 
"pretty  much  everybody"  and  "pretty  nearly 
all"  for  "nearly  everybody"  and  "almost 
all,"  which  express  the  meaning  fully  and 
are  far  preferable  on  the  score  of  simplic- 
ity. 

PREVENTATIVE — This  is  an  unneces- 
sary doublet  of  "preventive."  Use  the  latter. 

PROBE— Don't  use  it  either  for  "investi- 
gate" or  "investigation,"  if  you  can  find  a 
good  substitute,  as,  for  instance,  "fathom," 
"sift,"  "examine,"  "scrutinize,"  "investi- 
gate," "look  into,"  "inquire  into,"  "delve? 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STJLE        49 

into"  and  "ferret  out"  as  verbs,  and  "quiz," 
"inquiry,"  "examination,"  "investigation" 
and  "inquisition"  as  nouns.  A  short  word 
often  is  necessary  in  "heads,"  but  a  change 
in  construction  frequently  will  permit  the 
use  of  a  better  though  longer  word.  In 
"stories"  you  are  not  thus  limited  to  short 
words.  "Probe"  is  not  ungrammatical,  but 
merely  has  been  overworked. 

PROFANITY— Avoid-  it.  In  no  event  use 
a  string  of  dashes  to  indicate  a  profane, 
Vile  appellation;  you  might  as  well  print 
the  objectionable  phrase.  Say  the  person 
"uttered  a  vile  oath"  or  "applied  a  vile 
epithet." 

PROMINENT— This  word,  like  some 
others,  has  been  greatly  overworked  for  the 
purpose  of  exalting  the  leading  character  in 
a  "story"  that  needs  bolstering.  Thus  we 
have  "prominent"  financiers,  politicians, 
actors,  contractors  and  saloonkeepers.  It 
is  noticeable  that  the  adjective  never  is 
used  to  describe  John  D.  Rockefeller,  J.  P. 
Morgan,  or  others  Who  really  are  "promi- 
nent." Generally  speaking,  it  may  be  said 
that  if  a  man  is  "prominent"  his  name  and 
business  will  indicate  that  fact  without  any 
tag. 

PRONOUNS— The  first  or  some  other  par- 
agraph of  your  "story"  may  mention  John 
Smith.  If  you  refer  to  him  in  a  later  para- 
graph, repeat  his  name;  then  you  may  des- 
ignate him  thereafter  in  that  paragraph  as 
"he."  But  every  paragraph  in  which  he  is 
mentioned  must  contain  his  name.  Too 
many  "stories"  mention  more  than  one 
name  in  one  paragraph  and  leave  the  reader 
to  guess  who  is  meant  by  "he,"  "him," 
"his,"  "she,"  or  "her"  in  the  next.  The 
writer  may  know,  but  the  reader  does  not 
and  cannot  know. 

Don't  use  "it"  to  mean  different  things  in 
the  same  sentence,  as  in  the  following: 
"Although  all  the  details  of  the  programme 
were  not  worked  out,  it  was  evident  it  would 


50  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

give  the  people  a  series  of  attractions;"  "it 
is  declared  that  it  is  almost  impossible  for 
the  legations  to  obtain  action  on  any  ques- 
tion." This  is  a  prevalent  newspaper  error. 
Avoid!  it. 

If  you  refer  to  a  committee,  populace, 
state  or  nation,  in  one  place  as  "it,"  don't 
refer  to  the  same  thing  in  another  place  as 
"they."  Also,  don't  permit  such  slovenly 
work  as  the  following,  in  which  "state"  is 
referred  to  by  "it,"  neuter,  and  "states"  are 
made  feminine:  "The  state  now  enjoys  a 
position  of  advantage  from  which  it  may 
look  on  while  certain  of  the  sister  states  are 
giving  an  initiative  and  referendum  demon- 
stration." A  careful  writer  would  have  said 
"while  other  states." 

"Anyone"  and  "everybody"  are  singular 
nouns  and  require  singular  pronouns  in 
agreement  with  them.  For  "If  anyone 
wishes  to  patronize  'Secret  Service,'  they 
will  do  it  without  this  chronicler's  sym- 
pathy" say  "If  anyone  wishes,"  etc.,  "he 
or  she  will  do  it,"  etc.  For  "Everybody  put 
additional  locks  on  their  doors  and  win- 
dows" say  "Everybody  put  additional  locks 
on  his  or  her  doors  and  windows." 

"Who"  and  "whom"  have  caused  an  in- 
finite deal  of  trouble  for  writers  and  copy- 
readers.  Too  many  seemingly  forget  that 
"who"  is  in  the  nominative  case  and  never 
should  be  used  except  as  the  subject  of  a 
verb,  while  "whom"  is  in  the  objective  and 
never  should  be  used  except  as  the  object 
of  a  verb  or  preposition.  For  an  error  like 
the  following  there  is  no  excuse:  "If  other 
clews  develop,  I  shall  follow  them  up,  no 
matter  who  they  hit."  Here  "who"  is 
plainly  the  object  of  "hit"  and  is  used  im- 
properly for  "whom."  But  quite  as  often 
"whom"  is  used  incorrectly  for  "who,"  as 
in  the  following  instances:  "Billie  is  in  daily 
communication  with  Zelaya,  whom  he 
states  is  now  in  Brussels;"  "with  Lorimer 
were  David  L.  Frank,  Charles  Ward,  and, 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        51 

Patrick  H.  O'Donnell,  whom  it  was  an- 
nounced would'  assist  Mr.  Hanecy."  For 
some  occult  reason  the  writer,  or  copy- 
reader,  or  both,  considered1  "whom"  the  ob- 
ject respectively  of  "states"  and  "was  an- 
nounced." The  difficulty,  seemingly,  is  due 
to  the  two  parenthetical  clauses,  "he 
states"  and  "it  was  announced."  Draw  a 
ring,  mentally,  around  such  clauses,  regard 
them  for  the  moment  as  nonexistent,  and  it 
will  be  apparent  that  "whom"  is  used  im- 
properly for  "wrho,"  the  subject  respect- 
ively of  "is"  and  "would  assist." 

"Whoever"  and  "whomever"  also  fre- 
quently are  misused.  Examples:  "The 
king  will  honor  whoever  he  pleases  (to 
honor);"  "I  hereby  pledge  myself  to  support 
whomever  may  receive  the  nomination." 
In  the  first  example  the  nominative  "who- 
ever" is  used  incorrectly  for  the  objective 
"whomever"  as  the  object  of  the  verb 
"pleases  (to  honor)."  In  the  second  example 
the  objective  "whomever"  is  used  incor- 
rectly for  the  nominative  "whoever"  before 
"may  receive."  Doubt  as  to  which  is  the 
pioper  word  to  use  always  may  be  re- 
moved by  remembering  that  "whoever"  is 
equivalent  to  "the  (or  any)  person  who," 
and  "whomever"  to  "the  (or  any)  person 
whom."  Thus  the  first  example  resolves 
itseJf  into  "The  king  will  honor  the  person 
whom  he  pleases  (to  honor),"  and  the  sec- 
ond into  "I  hereby  pledge  myself  to  support 
the  person  who  may  receive  the  nomina- 
tion." While  "whomever"  apparently  is  the 
object  of  "support,"  the  real  object  is  the 
implied  antecedent,  "the  person,"  and 
"who,"  referring  to  "the  person,"  is  the 
subject  of  "may  receive."  The  case  of  this 
compound  relative  always  depends  upon 
what  follows  it, and  not  upon  what  precedes. 
But  the  idea  may  be  expressed  better  by  dis- 
carding "whoever"  and  "whomever"  and  by 
saying,  respectively,  "the  person  who"  and 
"the  person  whom." 


52  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

Distinguish  between  "who,"  "which"  and 
"that"  used  as  relative  pronouns.  "Who" 
refers  properly  only  to  persons;  "that"  re- 
fers to  persons  or  things;  "which"  refers 
only  to  "things."  "That"  is  used  generally 
after  superlatives  and  the  ordinal  numbers 
"first,"  "second,"  "third,"  etc.;  after  the 
words  "all,"  "very,"  "same;"  after  a  col- 
lective noun  signifying  a  body  of  persons; 
after  "who"  used  interrogatively,  and  after 
persons  and  things  taken  conjointly. 
"That,"  unlike  "whom"  and  "which,"  does 
not  admit  of  a  preposition  before  it.  When 
a  relative  clause  is  simply  descriptive  or 
parenthetic,  use  "who"  or  "which,"  as  in: 
"This  horse,  which  I  bought  yesterday,  is 
high  spirited."  In  such  a  case  a  comma  al- 
ways must  precede  "who"  or  "which."  But 
if  the  relative  clause  is  explanatory  or  re- 
strictive, careful  writers  prefer  "that," 
without  a  preceding"  comma.  Thus  they 
would  say:  "The  horse  that  I  bought  yes- 
terday is  high-spirited."  Here  the  rela- 
tive clause  restricts  the  application  to  the 
horse  bought  yesterday  and  excludes  any 
other  horse.  Present  usage  generally  favors 
"that"  in  such  cases.  In  this  connection  it 
is  well  also  to  remember  that  when  relatives 
joined  by  a  conjunction  refer  to  the  same 
antecedent,  they  should  not  change  their 
form.  Thus,  "He  that  stole  the  money  and 
who  was  captured"  is  wrong.  The  relatives 
here  should  be  uniformly  "that"  or  uni- 
formly "who." 

"You  and'  I"  often  is  misused.  A  common 
error  is  to  use  "I"  with  "you"  after  a  verb 
or  preposition,  when  both  should  be  in  the 
objective  case.  Examples:  "He  dislikes 
you  and1  I;"  "This  is  strictly  between  you 
and  I."  In  each  case  say  "you  and  me." 

PROPOSAL,  PROPOSITION  —  Distin- 
guish between  them.  A  "proposal"  is  an 
offer,  as  in  "a  proposal  of  marriage,"  "pro- 
posals of  peace."  "Proposition,"  as  opposed 
to  "proposal,"  denotes  more  definitely  the 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        53 

thing  proposed,  as  in  "a  proposition  to  buy 
or  sell."  A  "proposal"  is  virtually  an 
"overture";  a  "proposition"  may  be  the 
outcome  of  a  "proposal,"  furnishing  some- 
thing definite  for  discussion,  deliberation 
and  negotiation. 

PROPOSE— Don't  use  it  for  "intend"  or 
"purpose,"  as  in:  "I  propose  to  go  abroad." 

PROTEST— The  authorities  differ  as  to 
whether  "protest"  as  a  transitive  verb  may 
be  used  in  the  sense  of  "make  protest 
against,"  as  in:  "I  protest  your  state- 
ment." The  dictionary  which  approves  such 
use  cites  an  example  from  a  magazine  not 
noted  as  an  authority.  It  is  better  to  say 
"protest  against."  If  this  is  too  long  for 
heads,  some  short  synonym  may  be  found. 
Frequently  "protest"  is  used  when  the 
writer  really  means  "challenge,"  "criticise," 
"question"  or  "denounce." 

PROVIDING— Don't  use  it  when  you 
really  mean  "provided,"  which  signifies  "on 
condition,"  "with  the  understanding,"  etc. 
Thus,  don't  say  "I  shall  go  providing  it 
doesn't  rain,"  but  "provided  it  doesn't 
rain."  "Providing"  is  the  participle  of  the 
verb  "provide,"  "provided"  is  a  conjunc- 
tion, and  a  conjunction  here  is  imperative. 
Be  careful  in  the  use  of  "providing"  in 
legislative  "stories"  to  avoid  ambiguity. 
Example:  "The  bill  amends  section  10  of 
the  life  insurance  law  providing  that  the 
superintendent  of  insurance  shall,"  etc. 
"Providing"  as  here  used  refers  to  "law." 
In  reality  it  is  meant  to  refer  to  the  pro- 
posed amendment,  which  the  writer  pro- 
ceeds to  set  out.  Insert  "by"  before 
"providing"  and  the  intended  meaning  be- 
comes plain. 

PROW— Don't  use  it  for  "bow."  "Prow" 
is  poetical;  the  boatman,  yachtsman  and 
sailor  say  "bow." 

PUNCTUATION— Don't  expect  the  com- 
positors and  proofreaders  to  do  everything. 
Writers  and  copyreaders  having  a  proper 


54  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

regard  for  their  work  as  it  finally  appears 
in  the  paper  will  not  ignore  punctuation. 

Some  papers  punctuate  too  closely  and 
others  too  loosely.  The  one  safe,  general 
rule  is  to  punctuate  so  that  the  meaning  of 
a  sentence  will  be  clear  to  the  reader.  But 
whatever  you  do,  don't  separate  a  nomina- 
tive and  its  verb  by  a  comma  unless  there 
is  an  intervening  clause.  The  latter  al- 
ways should  be  preceded  by  a  comma  and 
followed  by  one. 

In  a  case  like  this  a  noun  in  apposition 
to  another  noun  requires  no  following 
comma:  "Lum  Jim,  a  Chinese  whom  the 
federal  authorities  are  about  to  deport."  A 
comma  after  "Chinese"  would  be  unneces- 
sary. It  is  misused  also  after  "rioting"  in 
the  following:  "Startling  developments  oc- 
curred today  in  the  rioting,  which  followed 
the  action  of  the  Senate  on  the  champagne 
question."  The  use  of  a  comma  after 
"church"  in  the  following  is  especially  ab- 
surd: "To  this  lone  woman  the  comfort  of 
divine  worship  as  a  member  of  the  church, 
had  been  denied." 

Avoid  the  use  of  the  dash  and  the  paren- 
thesis. Both  are  confusing  and  both  as  a 
rule  are  unnecessary.  Moreover,  both  are 
going  out  of  fashion.  Short,  simple,  forci- 
ble sentences  are  preferable  to  long,  in- 
volved sentences  larded  with  commas,  semi- 
colons, dashes  or  parentheses.  But  if  you 
feel  that  you  must  use  a  dash  at  the  begin- 
ning of  a  parenthetical  clause,  instead  of  a 
comma,  don't  fail  to  use  its  companion  dash 
at  the  close.  Never  use  another  mark  of 
punctuation  with  the  dash. 

Q 

QUITE — Don't  say  "quite  a  few."  No 
established  meaning  of  "quite"  will  permit 
it.  Say  "several,"  which  is  precisely  what 
you  mean.  Don't  say,  also,  "a  quite  large 
house,"  or  "a  quite  rich  man."  The  word 
"quite"  properly  does  not  mean  anything 
less  than  completeness. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION.  KTTLE        55 

R 

RAISE— Children  are  "reared,"  not 
"raised." 

RAP— This  is  quite  as  bad  as  "hit"  in  the 
sense  of  "criticise,"  "censure,"  "rebuke." 

REMAINS — This  is  another  favorite  word 
of  the  undertaker.  Don't  use  it.  Say 
"body." 

RENDER — Don't  use  this  extravagant, 
far-fetched,  equivocal  word  for  "sing"  or 
"play."  Mme.  Nordica  "sings"  and  Busoni 
"plays"  various  things,  but  neither  "ren- 
ders" anything,  except  when  the  reporter  or 
critic  resorts  to  "tine  writing"  or  the  copy- 
reader  overlooks  the  chief  function  of  the 
blue  pencil. 

REPETITION— Don't  repeat  a  word  un- 
necessarily in  the  same  sentence.  Use  an 
accepted  synonym.  But  beware  of  such 
atrocities  as  "the  canine"  for  "the  dog," 
"the  equine"  for  "the  horse,"  and  "the  fe- 
line" for  "the  cat."  The  words  "canine," 
"equine"  and  "feline"  are  adjectives,  not 
nouns.  It  is  better  to  repeat  a  word  than 
to  use  such  expressions. 

Don't  begin  a  sentence  with  the  same 
word  or  phrase  that  concludes  the  preceding 
one.  Example:  "The  Senate  will  be  occu- 
pied with  the  Lorimer  case.  The  Lorimer 
case  is  due  to  take  shape  as  an  open  fight 
on  the  floor  soon  after  the  gavel  falls."  For 
the  second  "the  Lorimer  case"  substitute 
"this,"  or  "the  latter,"  or  some  other  appro- 
priate expression. 

REPORTER — Don't  say  "A  reporter  of 
THE  RECORD-HERALD,"  or  "A  RECORD- 
HERALD  representative,"  but  "A  reporter 
for  THE  RECORD-HERALD,"  or  "A  RECORD- 
HERALD  reporter."  Leave  "representative" 
to  the  press  agent  and  the  commercial  trav- 
eler. Never  say  "THE  RECORD-HERALD 
reporter,"  as  if  the  paper  had  only  one  re- 
porter. 


56  HINT8  AND  "DON'TS" 

RIGHT,  LEFT— In  referring  to  a  bank  of 
a  river  or  side  of  a  street  it  is  better  to  say 
"north,"  "south,"  "east"  or  "west,"  as  the 
case  may  be,  instead  of  "right"  or  "left," 
unless,  as  in  the  following,  the  direction  in 
which  one  is  traveling  or  looking  is  clearly 
set  before  the  reader:  "Descending  the 
stream,  they  saw  on  the  right  high  banks, 
and  on  the  left  flat  meadows." 

ROAST — Don't  use  it  as  a  noun,  in  the 
sense  of  "ridicule,"  or  "criticism,"  or  as  a 
verb,  meaning  to  "ridicule,"  or  "criticise." 
"Roast"  is  in  the  same  class  as  "grill," 
"hit,"  "flay,"  "rap"  and  "score."  All  are 
used  figuratively  in  the  sense  indicated  and 
all  have  been  overworked.. 

ROMISH— Don't  use  it  for  "Roman  Cath- 
olic." It  is  intended  as  a  term  of  reproach 
and  is  barred. 


SCARCELY,  HARDLY— Make  the  proper 
distinction.  "Scarcely"  means  "with  a 
scant  margin,"  as  in:  "I  arrived  scarcely  an 
hour  ago,"  while  "hardly"  means  "with  dif- 
ficulty," as  in:  "I  can  hardly  walk." 

SCORE— As  bad  as  "hit,"  "rap"  or  "flay" 
in  the  sense  of  "criticise,"  "censure"  or  "re- 
buke." The  word  "score"  means  none  of 
these  things.  It  means  "to  mark  with  lines, 
scratches  or  notches;  to  notch." 

SECURE — Don't  use  it  when  you  mean 
"obtain,"  "procure,"  "acquire"  or  good, 
plain  "get."  Properly  "secure"  means  to 
"make  safe."  It  would  be  well  to  restrict  it 
to  that  meaning.  "Secure"  has  been  over- 
worked by  a  class  of  writers  and  copy- 
readers  who  seem  to  regard  it  as  an  "ele- 
gant" word.  For  no  other  apparent  reason 
they  will  "secure"  a  divorce,  a  house,  a 
meal,  a  night's  lodging,  a  suit  of  clothes  or 
a  shave. 

SELDOM  OR  EVER,  SELDOM  EVER— 
Used  improperly  for  "seldom  if  ever,"  "sel- 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        57 

dom  or  never."     Often  plain  "seldom"  will 
express  all  that  is  intended. 

SHORTLY— Don't  use  it  so  persistently, 
as  if  it  were  a  choicer  and  better  word  than 
"soon."  Within  the  last  few  years  "shortly" 
almost  has  superseded  "soon"  among  writ- 
ers and  copyreaders  in  search  of  something 
"fine."  No  reason  exists  for  discarding  so 
short,  good  and  serviceable  a  word  as 
"soon." 

SHOW — Don't  degrade  a  dignified  the- 
atrical performance  by  referring  to  it  as  a 
"show." 

SICK— It  is  better  to  say  "ill,"  "indis- 
posed" or  "ailing."  The  tendency  now  is  to 
confine  "sick"  to  the  sense  of  "nauseated." 
In  any  event,  do  not  apply  in  print  "sick" 
or  "unwell"  to  ladies. 

SIGNED— It  no  longer  is  in  good  form  to 
use  "(Signed)"  before  a  signature.  The  lat- 
ter, in  small  caps,  implies  that  the  writer 
signed  the  document  to  which  his  name  is 
appended. 

SINCE — Don't  use  it  when  you  mean 
"ago."  The  difference  between  "since"  and 
"ago"  is  stated  succinctly  and  exactly  by 
Webster  as  follows:  "  'Ago'  refers  to  a 
point  in  past  time;  'since,'  in  strict  usage,  to 
the  period  intervening  between  such  a  point 
a-nd  the  present;  in  'ago'  the  mind  is  carried 
back  from  the  present;  in  'since,'  forward 
from  a  starting  point  in  the  past;  as,  "I 
met  him  ten  years  'ago,'  but  have  not  seen 
him  'since.'  " 

SLANG — Like  nonsense,  a  bit  of  it  "now 
and  then  is  relished'  by  the  best  of  men." 
A  deft  use  of  current  slang  often  adds  to 
the  vivacity  of  a  "story,"  but  the  slang 
must  be  clever  and  it  must  not  be  ungram- 
matical  or  vulgar.  No  apologist,  however 
eminent,  can  justify  "in  the  soup,"  "on  the 
hog,"  "cop"  or  "copper"  for  "policeman," 
"peeved"  for  "piqued,"  "awful"  and  "aw- 
fully" for  "very"  or  "exceedingly,"  "buzz 
wagons"  for  "automobiles,"  "dope"  for  "in- 


58  HINTS  AND   "DOWTS" 

,  formation,"  or  like  atrocities.  "Sky  pilot," 
on  the  other  hand,  has  the  quality  of  apt 
description  to  commend  it,  and  at  least  is 
not  vulgar.  But  no  well-ordered  newspaper 
in  ordinary  news  "stories"  or  in  heads  will 
characterize  writers  as  "ink  slingers."  The 
expression  makes  undignified  the  paper 
using  it  and  offends  needlessly  those  upon 
whom  it  is  bestowed. 

Don't  use  the  adjective  "some"  for  the  ad- 
verb "somewhat,"  as  in:  "He  is  some 
tired."  Don't  use,  moreover,  such  barbar- 
ous expressions  as  "some  horse,"  "some 
picture,"  "going  some,"  etc.  These  have 
acquired  a  certain  vogue  recently,  but  are 
to  be  shunned. 

A  recent  and  popular  addition  to  slang  is 
"and  then  some"  for  "and  more,"  as  in: 
"He  earns  all  he  gets,  and  then  some." 
When  this  bit  of  ephemeral  slang  shall  have 
run  its  course  we  probably  shall  hear  again: 
"He  earns  more  than  he  gets,"  which  is 
good  English  and  far  more  striking. 

Nowadays  most  papers  allow  great  lati- 
tude in  the  use  of  slang  in  the  sporting  col- 
umns. This,  "though  it  make  the  unskillful 
laugh,  cannot  but  make  the  judicious 
grieve."  But  the  judicious  have  their  rem- 
edy. They  can  "skip"  the  sporting  pages. 

SORT — This  is  a  singular  noun.  Hence 
don't  say  "these  sort,"  but  "this  sort." 

SPLENDID — Reserve  this  much  abused 
word  for  things  that  suggest  splendor.  A 
sunset  may  be  "splendid,"  but  a  book  is  not. 
President  Taft's  stand  on  certain  public 
questions  may  be  brave,  manly,  excellent, 
admirable,  patriotic,  far-seeing,  broad- 
minded,  statesmanlike,  and  altogether 
praiseworthy,  but  only  a  careless  writer 
would  call  it  "splendid." 

STATE— Don't  use  this  exceedingly  fussy, 
formal  verb  except  for  equally  formal  oc- 
casions. Ordinarily  use  "say." 

STATE  TAX  COMMISSION— Don't  call 
it  "Deneen's  commission,"  or  "governor's 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  8T7LE        59 

commission,"  either  in  heads  or  in  "stories." 
This  body  was  created,  not  by  Governor  De- 
neen,  but  by  the  Illinois  general  assembly, 
because  of  the  interest  aroused  by  the  Chi- 
cago Civic  Federation  in  the  subject  of  tax 
reform. 

STOP,  STAY  —  Don't  confuse  them. 
"Stop"  means  "to  cease  from  any  motion  or 
course  of  action,"  as  in:  "I  shall  stop  at 
Chicago."  "Stay"  means  "to  remain;,"  as 
in:  "I  intend  to  stay  there  a  week."  On© 
does  not  "stop"  at  a  hotel,  but  "stays"  at  a 
hotel. 

SUBJUNCTIVE  MODE— Occasionally  you 
will  encounter  "If  I  be  not  mistaken,"  or 
"If  it  fee  fair,"  and  like  phrases,  but  the 
subjunctive  mode  has  fewer  devotees  than 
formerly  and  virtually  is  out  of  date.  Say 
"If  I  am  not  mistaken,"  "If  it  is  fair,"  etc. 
In  any  event  don't  say:  "Rather  than  make 
such  a  confession  he  would  accept  any  ver- 
dict that  be  forthcoming."  Only  a  few  ex- 
treme sticklers  for  the  subjunctive  would  go 
as  far  as  that. 

SUSTAIN — Properly  the  word  means  "to 
hold  up  or  support,"  and  one  who  dies  of 
injuries  never  "sustains"  them.  Injuries 
may  be  "received"  or  "suffered,"  or  the 
construction  of  a  sentence  may  be  changed 
and  its  meaning  preserved  by  saying  "the 
man  was  injured"  in  such  and  such  a  man- 
ner and  to  such  and  such  an  extent.  "Sus- 
tain" in  this  sense  is  another  word  favored 
by  those  who  admire  so-called  "fine  writ- 
ing." A  careful  copyreader  will  cut  it  out 
and  substitute  a  different  word  or  a  different 
construction. 


TAUTOLOGY— Avoid  needless  repetition 
of  the  same  idea  in  different  words.  For 
example: 

Don't  permit  anyone  to  say:  "We  re- 
peat what  we  have  said  before,  that,"  etc. 
"We  repeat  that,"  etc.,  is  enough.  Even 


60  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

this  may  well  be  omitted  and  the  statement 
thus  absurdly  introduced  be  printed  without 
labeling  it  as  "repeated." 

Don't  say  "a  big  throng."  Remember  that 
* 'throng"  means  "multitude." 

Don't  say  "and  also"  when  "and"  alone 
clearly  expresses  the  intended  meaning,  as 
it  usually  does. 

Don't  say  "The  spread  of  the  plague  still 
continues."  The  word  "continues"  is  suffi- 
cient and  "still"  is  superfluous.  For  the 
same  reason  don't  say  "still  persists." 

Don't  say  "from  hence,"  "from  thence," 
4 'from  whence."  The  adverb  is  sufficient 
without  "from."  "Hence,"  for  instance, 
means  "from  this  place."  It  is  unnecessary 
as  well  as  ungrammatical  to  repeat  "from." 

Discard  the  cant  society  term  "high  noon" 
and  say  "noon,"  which  is  all  that  is  neces- 
sary. 

Don't  say  "They  both  denied  the  accusa- 
tion." "Both"  expresses  the  idea  fully  and 
clearly  without  "they." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  say  "condor  bird," 
for  the  reason  that  a  condor  is  a  bird. 

Don't  say  "he  lives  in  fine  style."  The 
combination  is  redundant  and  the  thought 
intended  to  be  conveyed  may  be  expressed 
fully  in  the  statement,  "He  lives  in  style." 
No  adjective  is  needed  and  none  should  be 
used. 

Omit  "as"  in  "equally  as  well"  because  it 
is  superfluous,  and  say  "equally  well." 

"Don't  say  "real  facts,"  "exact  facts"  or 
"true  facts."  They  would  not  be  "facts" 
if  they  were  not  "real,"  or  "exact"  or 
"true." 

Don't  say  "widow  woman."  A  widow 
necessarily  is  a  woman. 

Don't  say  "old  adage. "  If  it's  an  adage, 
it's  old. 

Omit  "in"  as  unnecessary  in  the  expres- 
sion "in  so  far  as"  and  say  "so  far  as." 

Don't    say    "equanimity    of    mind,"    but 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        61 

"equanimity,"  which  means  "evenness  of 
mind." 

Don't  say  "no  one  else  but  me."  Omit 
"else"  as  superfluous. 

Don't  say  "new  beginner."  The  word 
"new"  is  superfluous. 

Don't  say  "not  by  any  manner  of  means," 
but  "not  by  any  means,"  or  "by  no  means." 
Drop  "manner  of"  as  superfluous. 

Don't  say  "for  some  time  to  come,"  as  in: 
"The  troops  are  to  stay  where  they  are  for 
some  time  to  come."  Naturally  they  will 
not  stay  for  some  time  "past."  Omit  "to 
come." 

It  will  be  quite  safe  to  omit  "state"  in 
"state  legislature"  and  to  say  "Congress" 
iij stead  of  "national  legislature."  In  any 
event  don't  say  "Illinois  state  legislature." 
A  "legislature,"  as  generally  if  not  uni- 
versally understood,  is  a  state  body.  The  use 
of  "national  legislature"  for  Congress  evi- 
dences either  a  fondness  for  "fine  writing" 
or  fear  of  repeating  a  short  and  good  word. 
Repetition  is  preferable  to  the  use  of  "fine" 
phrases.  Discard  also  "State  Representa- 
tive" and  say  "Representative."  The  con- 
text will  prevent  confusion  with  "Repre- 
sentative" meaning  a  member  of  Congress. 

Don't  say  "general  consensus  of  opinion." 
"Consensus"  itself  means  "a  general  agree- 
ment, or  concord." 

Don't  say  "return  again"  unless  you  really 
mean  a  second  return.  Don't  say  "return 
back."  The  word  "back"  is  superfluous. 

Be  careful  in  the  use  of  "complete," 
"completed."  "completely,"  "completion," 
"entirely,"  "totally"  and  "wholly."  When 
a  building  is  completed  it  is  finished,  and 
you  add  nothing  except  a  misused  word 
when  you  say  it  is  "entirely  completed." 
Stop  at  "completed."  To  say  a  building  is 
"completed  only  partly"  or  "completed  in 
part"  involves  a  contradiction.  Say  "it  is 
almost  completed"  or  "nearing  completion." 
Don't  say  "final  completion,"  because 


62  HINTS  AND 

"final"  is  superfluous.  Again,  don't  say; 
"completely  destroyed,"  "totally  destroyed" 
or  "wholly  destroyed."  When  a  building  is 
"destroyed,"  by  fire  or  otherwise,  you  can- 
not add  to  the  destruction  by  the  use  of  any 
of  these  adverbs.  Say  "destroyed,"  or  "the 
building  is  a  total  loss."  If  the  work  of 
the  flames  is  not  complete,  say  that  a  spe- 
cific part  was  "destroyed,"  or,  if  the  fact 
justifies  it,  "the  building  was  almost  de- 
stroyed." 

The  following  example  of  tautology  is 
from  a  recent  foreign  dispatch:  "Tonight 
the  railroads  are  completely  tied  up  the 
length  and  breadth  of  Portugal." 

Don't  say  "insurance  underwriter,"  but 
"underwriter,"  or  "insurance  man,"  or  "in- 
surance agent."  An  underwriter  is  one  wha 
underwrites  a  policy  of  insurance;  an  in- 
surer. Hence  "insurance  underwriter' r 
means  "insurance  insurer."  If  you  wish  to 
distinguish  between  different  classes  of 
men  engaged  in  the  insurance  business,  say 
"fire  underwriters,"  "fire  insurance  men,"  or 
"fire  insurance  agents";  "life  underwriters," 
"life  insurance  men,"  or  "life  insurance 
agents";  "casualty  underwriters,"  "casualty 
insurance  men,"  or  "casualty  insurance 
agents."  A  few  papers  bar  such  expressions 
as  "insurance  man,"  "railroad  man," 
"newspaper  man,"  but  the  use  of  the  noun 
as  an  adjective  in  such  cases  is  in  accord- 
ance with  approved  precedent.  The  word 
"churchman,"  for  instance,  is  in  accepted 
use  and  is  clearly  an  evolution  from  "church 
man." 

Don't  say  "old  veterans."  All  "veterans," 
with  the  exception  of  a  single  class,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  "old."  The  exception  em- 
braces the  so-called  "Spanish  War 
Veterans,"  many  of  whom  are  not  "veter- 
ans" in  the  ordinary  acceptation  of  the 
term.  When  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  War 
and  the  soldiers  of  the  Spanish-American 
War  figure  in  a  "story,"  distinguish  between 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        63 

the  two  classes  by  giving  each  class  its 
proper  designation. 

Don't  say  "a  young  man  22  years  old." 
The  reason  should  be  obvious. 

Don't  say  "possibly  may"  or  "possibly 
might."  The  verb  itself  conveys  the  idea  of 
"possibility."  Omit  "possibly." 

"The  la  grippe"  appears  occasionally  in 
spite  of  admonitions  that  "la"  means  "the." 
Say  "la  grippe"  or,  Anglicised,  "the  grip," 
and  you  will  be  correct. 

TENDERED— Don't  use  it  in  the  sense 
of  "given,"  as  in:  "A  banquet  was  tendered 
him  last  night."  A  banquet  is  "tendered" 
when  it  is  "offered."  When  it  takes  place 
it  is  "given." 

THAT — Use  the  conjunction  when  it  is 
necessary  to  the  sense  and  omit  it  when  it 
is  unnecessary.  It  is  necessary,  for  instance, 
after  such  verbs  as  "allege"  and  "stipulate" 
and  unnecessary  after  "say."  Examples: 
"Mrs.  Michaelis  alleges  that  Brand  is  en- 
deavoring," etc.;  "the  ordinance  stipulates 
that  the  city  will  stand  the  cost  of  repairs;" 
^'he  says  he  will  be  a  candidate."  If  Mrs. 
Michaelis  made  other  allegations,  "that" 
should  be  repeated  before  each,  both  for  the 
sake  of  good  English  and  as  a  matter  of 
safety  to  the  paper,  which  by  so  doing  con- 
nects each  charge  with  the  verb  "alleges." 

"That"  is  unnecessary  after  the  conjunc- 
tion "provided,"  where  It  always  is  under- 
stood. Hence  don't  say  "Provided  that  the 
repairs  are  necessary." 

"That"  is  unnecessary  also  after  "not- 
withstanding." Hence  don't  say  "Notwith- 
standing that  the  population  had  doubled." 

Be  consistent  in  the  omission  of  "that" 
after  "say,"  1.  e.,  don't  omit  it  once  and  use 
it  later,  as  in  the  following:  "The  Interna- 
tional Typographical  Union,  he  said,  would 
stand  for  the  protection  and  fulfillment  of 
its  contracts,  and  that  the  members  of  the 
•Chicago  Typographical  Union  would  be  the 


64  HINTS  AND   "DON'TS" 

first  to  take  this  stand."  Inverted,  the 
sentence  would  read:  "He  said  the  Interna- 
tional Typographical  Union  would  stand," 
etc.,  "and  that  the  members,"  etc.  "That" 
is  omitted  after  "said"  in  the  first  clause 
and  used  after  "he  said"  (understood)  in  the 
second.  If  omitted  once,  it  should  be  omit- 
ted again;  if  used  once,  it  should  be  used 
again.  As  previously  stated,  however,  its 
use  after  "said"  is  unnecessary. 

Avoid  the  mixed  construction  involved  in 
the  following:  "Both  denied  having  received 
any  offer  to  sell  their  votes,  or  that  they  had 
offered  to  award  the  contract  for  any  con- 
sideration." Be  consistent  and  say  "or  hav- 
ing offered  to  award,"  etc. 

Don't  repeat  "that"  through  mere  care- 
lessness, as  in:  "It  is  figured  that  if  Mr. 
Lorimer  can  be  vindicated  by  a  majority 
voting  that  he  should  retain  his  seat  in  the 
Senate,  that  the  same  vote  will  be  a  repu- 
diation of  Colonel  Roosevelt."  The  third 
"that"  is  a  thoughtless  repetition  of  the 
first. 

Don't  say  "just  that  near."  "That"  is  not 
an  adverb.  What  you  mean  is  "just  so 
near." 

TITLES— Only  the  following  abbreviations 
are  permissible:  Dr.,  Hon.,  M.,  Mgr.,  Mr., 
Mrs.,  Messrs.,  Mile.,  Mme.,  Rev.  Spell  out 
President,  Vice  President,  Secretary,  Sena- 
tor, Governor,  Representative,  Alderman, 
Commissioner,  General,  Colonel,  Professor, 
etc.  Never  use  Mrs.  Dr.,  Mrs.  General,  etc.; 
use  plain  Mrs,  Women  have  no  titles  by 
virtue  of  the  offices  or  professions  of  their 
husbands. 

The  indiscriminate  bestowal  in  this  coun- 
try of  the  title  "Hon."  upon  Presidents, 
United  States  senators,  representatives  in 
Congress,  members  of  legislatures,  alder- 
men, all  sorts  of  city  officials,  and  even  con- 
stables, practically  has  left  it  meaningless. 
Don't  use  it  except  in  extracts  from 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        65 

speeches  or  documents  and  except  when  it 
appears  with  foreign  names. 

Don't  degrade  the  honorable  title  "Judge" 
by  bestowing  it  haphazard  by  way  of  a 
compliment.  Keep  it  for  those  to  whom  by 
virtue  of  their  offices  it  legitimately  belongs. 
When  a  judge  retires  from,  the  bench  he 
ceases  to  be  a  judge  and  thenceforth  is  an 
"ex-judge"  or  "former  judge."  In  intro- 
ducing him  in  a  "story"  call  him  "ex-Judge 
Blank"  or  "former  Judge  Blank."  When 
you  refer  to  him  again  in  the  "story"  call 
him  "Mr.  Blank."  Recently  former  Judge 
Alton  B.  Parker  of  New  York  was  referred 
to  in  three  paragraphs  respectively  as 
"Judge  Alton  B.  Parker,"  "Mr.  Parker,*' 
and  "Judge  Parker." 

Use  "Judge"  for  "Justice"  except  in  re- 
ferring to  members  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  and  to  justices  of  the 
peace.  But  a  presiding  magistrate  in  a 
police  court  is  a  "magistrate." 

Writers  and  copyreaders  are  enjoined  es- 
pecially against  coining  titles.  Use  only 
those  which  are  strictly  legitimate,  such  as 
President,  Representative,  General,  Colonel, 
Dr.,  Rev.,  Judge,  District  Attorney,  etc. 
A  lawyer  is  not  "Attorney  Brown,"  but 
"John  Brown,  attorney  for  the  plaintiff,"  or 
"John  Brown,  an  attorney  representing  the 
plaintiff.'  A  person  in»  charge  of  a  res- 
taurant is  hardly  of  sufficient  importance  to 
be  dignified  in  type  on  the  first  or  any  other 
page  as  "Manager  A.  Frank";  it  is  enough 
to  speak  of  him  once  as  "A.  Frank,  the 
manager,"  and  subsequently  as  "Mr. 
Frank,"  or  even  "Frank."  A  PInkerton  em- 
ploye is  not  "Pinkerton  Operative  McCaf- 
ferty,"  but  "John  McCafferty,  a  Pinkerton 
operative."  This  coining  of  titles,  unless 
checked,  may  lead  eventually  to  "Barkeeper 
Smith,"  "Grocer  Jones,"  "Janitor  Green," 
etc.  The  practice  will  not  be  permitted  in 
THE  RECORD-HERALD. 


66  HINTS  AND  "DOWTS" 

TOGA— This  word  is  misused  persistently 
in  referring  to  senators  or  candidates  for 
the  Senate,  as  in:  "Sheehan  Out  for  Toga." 
The  toga  was  a  loose,  outer  garment  worn 
by  Roman  citizens  when  appearing  in  pub- 
lic. Thus  the  wearing  of  a  toga  did  not 
indicate  that  the  wearer  was  a  member  of 
the  Senate,  but  merely  that  he  was  a  Roman 
citizen.  It  is  well  known  that  modern  sen- 
ators do  not  wear  togas,  but  coats.  The 
use  of  "toga"  may  be  poetical,  but  it  is  not 
accurate.  Moreover,  the  word  has  been 
overworked. 

TOTALS  TO— Don't  use  it  for  "totals." 
Various  sums  when  added  do  not  "total  to" 
a  certain  amount,  but  "total"  so  much. 

TRANSPIRE — Don't  use  it  in  the  sense  of 
"occur."  It  means  to  "emerge  from  ob- 
scurity, become  known,"  and  its  use  for 
"occur"  or  "happen"  is  improper  and  fur- 
nishes only  another  instance  of  so-called 
"fine  writing." 


U 


UNDER — Don't  use  it  as  meaning;  "less 
than." 

UNFAMILIAR  WORDS— Don't  use  them 
unless  there  is  a  compelling  reason  for  so 
doing,  and  then  be  sure  you  understand 
their  meaning  and  apply  them  correctly. 


VENAL,  VENIAL— Don't  confuse  them. 
"Venal"  means  "corrupt,"  "mercenary," 
whereas  "venial"  signifies  something  that 
may  be  pardoned.  One  enters  into  a 
"venal"  bargain  and  one  may  commit  a 
"venial"  fault. 

VERBS — Don't  use  a  singular  verb  with 
a  plural  subject,  or  a  plural  verb  with  a 
singular  subject. 

In  the  first  place,  don't  mistake  the  sub- 
ject. Frequently  it  does  not  come  imme- 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        67 

diately  before  the  verb.  Thus,  "The  end  of 
the  years  are"  should  be  "The  end  of  tho 
years  is,"  the  word  "end"  and  not  "years" 
being  the  subject.  Similarly,  "suggest" 
should  be  changed  to  "suggests"  in  the  fol- 
lowing sentence,  "prominence,"  and  not 
"foods,"  being  the  subject:  "Illinois'  prom- 
inence in  the  manufacture  of  cereal  break- 
fast foods  suggest  the  importance  to  the 
state  of  the  reduction  of  duty  on  such  arti- 
cles." The  use  of  the  wrong  number  in 
such  cases  is  a  common  newspaper  error. 

A  prevalent  form  of  this  error  is  found  in 
sentences  such  as:  "It  is  one  of  the  best 
books  that  has  appeared  this  year."  Don't 
be  guilty  of  this  careless  slip.  The  qualify- 
ing phrase  in  such  cases  requires  the  plural 
verb,  since  the  "that"  refers  not  to  "one," 
but  to  the  several  to  which  the  "one"  be- 
longs. 

Two  singular  subjects  taken  separately 
require  a  singular  verb.  Thus,  "Neither  Mr. 
Goodwin  nor  his  wife  reside  here"  should 
be  "Neither  Mr.  Goodwin  nor  his  wife  re- 
sides here."  The  use  of  a  plural  verb  In 
such  cases  also  is  a  common  newspaper 
error. 

Two  subjects  not  used  in  a  collective  sense 
and  joined  by  "and"  require  a  plural  verb. 
This  sentence  recently  appeared:  "Miss 
Leslie's  return  to  the  stage  a  year  or  so  ago 
and  her  steady  practice  of  her  art  since 
then  has  wrought  a  notable  betterment  of 
her  method."  Here  the  auxiliary  "has"  is 
used  incorrectly  for  "have."  The  rule  holds 
good  also  when  two  subjects  are  followed 
by  a  predicate  noun  in  the  singular  number. 
Thus,  "is"  in  "today's  report  and  findings 
is  the  result"  is  used  incorrectly  for  "are." 
Another  recent  sentence  follows:  "Mr. 
Blank's  conducting  and  the  playing  of  the 
orchestra  was  again  one  of  the  most  im- 
pressive features  of  the  performance."  Here 
"was"  is  used  incorrectly  for  "were."  If 
one  objects  to  "were"  on  the  ground  that  it 


68  HINTS  AND   " 

"doesn't  sound  right,"  the  word  easily  may 
be  changed  to  "constituted"  and  the  mean- 
ing preserved  unimpaired. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  singular  subject  and 
a  plural  predicate  are  a  frequent  cause  of 
stumbling,  as  in  this  sentence:  "The  most 
recent  addition  to  the  curios  of  the  orangery 
are  five  astronomical  instruments."  Here 
the  verb  clearly  should  be  "is,"  although  a 
deft  hand  would  have  avoided  all  possibil- 
ity either  of  error  or  of  controversy  by 
transposing  the  sentence  and  making  "in- 
struments" the  subject  and  "addition"  the 
predicate  noun. 

The  agreement  between  verb  and  subject, 
moreover,  must  be  uniform.  Only  a  care- 
less writer  or  copyreader  will  permit,  for 
example,  the  use  of  "is"  in  the  first  part  of 
a  sentence  referring  to  "nation"  and  the 
later  use  of  "are"  referring  to  the  same 
noun. 

When  a  collective  noun  indicates  unity, 
use  the  singular  verb,  as  in  "nation,"  "Con- 
gress," "city  council,"  "government,"  "com- 
mittee," etc.  The  British  practice  is  dif- 
ferent, but  you  are  writing  presumably  for 
Americans  chiefly. 

A  participle  used  as  a  noun  is  preceded  by 
a  noun  or  pronoun  in  the  possessive,  not  111 
the  objective,  case.  Thus,  "a  policeman  pre- 
vented the  man  jumping  out  of  the  window" 
should  be  "a  policeman  prevented  the  man's 
jumping  out  of  the  window,"  and  "I  object 
to  him  going"  should  be  "I  object  to  his 
going." 

Use  the  infinitive,  rather  than  a  parti- 
ciple, after  a  verb  like  "fail."  Thus  "fail  to 
evoke"  is  preferred  to  "fail  of  evoking." 

Despite  what  seems  to  be  a  prevalent 
opinion  among  writers  and  copyreaders,  the 
past  tense  of  the  verb  "forecast"  is  "fore- 
cast," not  "forecasted." 

VERY— Don't  use  it  too  often.  It  is  a 
"good"  word,  but  has  been  overworked. 


SYNTAX,  DICTION,  STYLE        £9 

VOUCHSAFE— Don't  use  it  unless  you 
mean  "concede,"  "grant,"  "accord,"  or 
"deign,"  and  unless  you  wish  always  t<?: 
convey  the  idea  of  condescension.  Generally 
speaking-,  it  is  used  by  writers  and  passed! 
by  copyreaders  who  are  enamored  of  large, 
high-sounding  words,  but  who  do  not  al- 
ways have  an  accurate  conception  of  their 
meanings.  As  a  result,  one  encounters  such 
absurdities  as:  "He  would!  vouchsafe  no 
information,"  "he  woulcl  vouchsafe  no 
reply,"  "he  wouldn't  vouchsafe  anything," 
whereas  all  that  the  reporter  means  is  that 
"he  refused  to  talk." 

W 

WAY — This  word  is  not  an  adverb,  but  a 
noun,  and  hence  cannot  be  used  for  "far," 
or  for  "away"  in  its  intensive  sense,  in  such 
an  expression  as  "way  up  into  the  mil- 
lions." 

WAYS — Don't  misuse  it  for  "way,"  as  in; 
"It  is  a  long  ways  from  New  York  to  Chi- 
cago." This  is  a  common  newspaper  error. 

WEALTHY— Don't  use  it  so  often,  but  re- 
serve it  for  persons  wrho  really  possess 
wealth.  The  word  is  sadly  overworked, 
principally  to  build  up  "stories"  by  giving 
the  leading  characters  a  standing  which 
they  do  not  possess.  Usually  the  so-called 
"wealthy"  person  is  merely  "well-to-do" 
or  "in  comfortable  circumstances."  Tell  the 
truth  by  saying  so. 

WELL  KNOWN— In  the  same  class  with 
"prominent"  and  "wealthy."  If  a  person 
is  really  well  known,  the  adjective  is  mere 
surplusage:  if  not  well  known,  it  is  unde- 
served and  should  not  be  used. 

WHATEVER— Useful  for  imparting  em- 
phasis to  a  statement,  but  loses  its  force 
when  used  too  often.  Generally  speaking, 
it  may  be  omitted  without  harm,  as  in: 
"There  was  no  change  whatever  in  the 
money  market." 


°AND  "'DON'TS" 

WHEREFORE— Don't  use  it  to  begin  a 
sentence  or  paragraph.  Say  "therefore." 

WINDY — The  derisive  term  "Windy  City" 
is  applied  to  Chicago  by  envious  rivals, 
thoughtless  speakers  and  ill-informed  coun- 
try correspondents.  Don't  permit  it  to  ap- 
pear in  the  columns  of  THE  RECORD-HER- 
ALD, unless  it  occurs  in  a  speech  which  the 
paper  is  printing  in  full.  Don't  accentuate 
it  even  then. 

WORDS  GENERALLY  IN  DIFFERENT 
SENSES — Don't  use  them  in  the  same  sen- 
tence or  paragraph.  You  are  writing,  not 
to  confuse  the  reader,  but  to  enlighten  or 
entertain  him. 

WORTH — Don't  use  it  to  denote  a  per- 
son's fortune  or  estate,  as  in:  "John  Jones 
is  worth  $50,000."  John  Jones  may  have 
property  valued  at  $50,000,  or  may  leave 
an  estate  estimated  to  be  worth  that 
amount,  but  what  he  is  worth  is  known 
only  to  the  Recording  Angel. 

"WRITE-UPS"— If  in  the  same  type  as 
the  main  "story,"  they  must  be  preceded  by 
a  2-em  dash;  if  in  smaller  type,  they  must 
begin  with  a  bracket  and  end  with  one,  but 
without  any  preceding  dash. 


XMAS — Don't    use    this    barbarism    for 
"Christmas,"  either  in  text  or  in  heads. 


YET— Don't  use  it  as  an  adverb  of  time 
unless  it  is  necessary  to  imply  that  some- 
thing may  happen.  Generally  it  may  be 
omitted  without  harm  to  the  sense.  Thus 
"He  has  not  arrived"  is  sufficient  ordinarily 
without  the  addition  of  "yet." 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


if? 


YA  00370 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


